


Unchanging Bonds

by DragonOfWriting



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh!, Yu-Gi-Oh! Series
Genre: 70 Percent Factually Correct Ancient Egypt, Angst, Big Bang Challenge, Canonical Character Death, F/M, Minor Character Death, Minor Original Character(s), Non-Graphic Violence, Vaseshipping - Freeform, YGO Big Bang, teens doing teen things, × Mild Blood, × NPCs Die so uh...there'll be body mentions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-19
Updated: 2018-09-01
Packaged: 2019-06-29 14:42:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 29,403
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15731514
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DragonOfWriting/pseuds/DragonOfWriting
Summary: Mana and Atem have been friends forever. Nothing will change that, not even when Atem became Pharaoh. Not even her own burgeoning feelings. But as an unknown threat looms closer, everything that Mana thought she knew about herself will be put into question. In the end, what does it mean to change?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, welcome! This story is my submission for the YGO Big Bang event. Honestly this piece is a lot of firsts for me: it's the longest piece I've ever written in my life, it's the first multi-chaptered thing I've ever done, and it's the first time I've ever worked on a single story for months on end. So even if this sucks, I'm honestly proud that I did this. I've learnt so much as a writer from this experience. 
> 
> Gotta thank my friend for letting me pester her to read sections of this story at like 2 am, honestly man you're a lifesaver, and Amatsubuart for making this very beautiful piece for my story! Link here: https://amatsubuart.tumblr.com/post/175297764833/dragon-of-something-the-final-piece-for-your
> 
> Anyways, I hope you all enjoy this. I'm open to feedback so feel free to leave a comment down below on what I can improve (there's probably a lot).  
> ==========================================================================  
> GLOSSARY FOR EGYPTIAN TERMS  
> Demotic text = writing system used by commoners  
> Shemu = the harvesting season  
> Heka = magic/magical energy (also a god)  
> Thoth = god of writing and words  
> Ra = the sun god who, at the end of the day, journeys through the underworld, creating the day-night cycle  
> Ba = the portion of the soul that contains the personality of a being/object  
> Ka = the portion of the soul that detaches itself from the body after death (in the case of Yu-Gi-Oh, this is the portion of a person's soul that can manifest as a monster)

Ra had barely made it halfway through the sky and Mana was already trying to stifle a yawn. She sat against the one of the walls of practice room, scrolls strewn about haphazardly, adding to the already cluttered mess of overflowing baskets and intricate implements around her. The clay tablet in her hand was a scrawled jumble of chalky smudges and demotic text. She twiddled the stub of chalk in her right hand. She’s been at this since the morning, copying out the scrolls Master had set for her in order to memorise them for the test he planned to give her later in the day. The boredom of copying out the same several scrolls over and over was getting to her though. Besides, what’s the use of learning a spell that enabled her to ward off crocodiles? They were very nice if you talked to them. She sighed as she squinted at the scroll in front of her which a detailed a spell for tripping people. At least this spell she could use. Who knows, maybe it could be used outside of tripping people like how the war cry spell could be used to call for someone in particular. 

Her stomach gurgled. Time for a break. She got up, dusting off the chalk on her hands and dress. The last thing she ate was couple of dates before the dawn prayers, much to the chagrin of Master. He thought she ate too many sweet things. Maybe she’ll cut back and get something not sweet for a change.     

Most of the palace servants paid her no mind as she walked through the hallways, with only a few here and there glancing in her direction. She wasn’t surprised, it was pretty weird for her to walk about without some manner of animal trailing behind her. Only yesterday Prince’s cat Sekhmet had followed her from the gardens to the town. Thinking of Prince, the last time they properly talked to each other was three days ago. Three days too long. It’s not like she didn’t try to visit him, but every time she did he was always in a meeting or discussing things in the throne room. Knowing him, he probably has been running himself ragged worrying over everything, not eating or sleeping properly as a result. He never took of himself. She should get him something to eat while she’s at it, something that’ll revitalise him. And she knew just the thing. So much for not eating sweet things.

She stepped out into the palace gardens and breathed in the fresh air, catching the perfumes of various flowers. Her skin welcomed the sun’s warm touch, especially after spending so much time indoors. Mana stretched, working out the kinks that had formed in her back and arms, before checking her surroundings. Clumps of date palms and acacia trees sprung into view, with poppies and cornflowers decorating their bases. A large pond lay to her left, fish flitting about underneath the water lilies spread across its surface. The fig tree was hard to miss, standing proud above the other trees in the garden. Its trunk was gnarled and twisted, easy purchase for two adventurous kids to climb and reach the sunset-soaked figs that peeped shyly from beneath the leaves. She remembered the first time she came across this tree. Back then, it seemed to stretch forever upwards, taller than the obelisks that stood in the temple, an imposing and severe figure. She watched wide-eyed as Prince monkeyed his way into the branches with ease, yank a few figs off their stems and scramble back down. He held out those figs to her, the widest smile beaming on his face. The first one tasted so sweet, so good, so unlike anything she’s ever had, that she kept shoving them into her mouth one after the other.  In the end, she gobbled up all the figs he had brought back without meaning to. Instead of getting angry at her like she expected, he only giggled and pointed at the sticky mess of juice on her face and hands. Now, she hauled herself up into the branches with ease, twisting the fruit off its stem with a practiced motion. It never did taste as sweet as that first time, but the mellow honey-like flavour was still her favourite. A rich brown falcon with a spotted chest landed beside her and nipped at her fingers.

Mana smiled. ‘Nice to see you too, Ansu.’

She chirped before preening her feathers.

After chomping down another three, she gathered five more and carefully made her way back to the ground. She honestly wasn’t sure where Prince was. Hopefully he’d be in his bedroom, despite it being the last place he be at this time of day. It be much easier to talk there than the meeting room or the throne room, the places he’d most likely be. Well, it couldn’t hurt to check first, considering she was pretty close to it. Ansu didn’t follow her when she left the gardens, the falcon preferring to continue preening. Prince’s bedroom was on the second floor, on the western side of the palace. There were two flights of stairs she could take to get there, but the closest flight of stairs would be on her right, past his private bath. It’s been awhile since she been there. At least six months, on the day he had become pharaoh. That wasn’t the only thing that changed that day.

She glanced through doorway of the bath as she passed by, wondering whether she’d find Sekhmet just lazing about near the bath’s edge, since Prince’s bath was one of the cat’s few favourite spots in the palace to relax. She stopped. Prince stood in the middle of the bath, his back facing her, with a bronze basin raised above his head. He had tipped the basin, allowing the water inside to splash down onto him. She watched the water slip between the strands of his hair, fall onto the nape of his neck, and trail downwards across his bare back to the water sitting just below his hips.

Her face burned.

She immediately retreated to the safety of the wall. He was taking a bath now!? Where were the guards? The curtain? Did he sneak a bath? Did the servants take the curtain in for washing because he normally wouldn’t bathe at this time? Her face felt hotter than an oven as the image of his naked back flashed into her head. What was she embarrassed about. It’s not she hadn’t seen his back before, and he’s gone around plenty of times in his kilt alone. She has seen half-naked men before. It wasn’t that big of a deal. It shouldn’t be that big of a deal. It…she sighed. Annoying Feelings.

Though more importantly, what is she going to do with these figs. She looked down at her arms. They were still very bright and smelt delicious but she could see that they were beginning to soften from being carried everywhere. And she was too full to eat all five figs by herself. She could levitate them to him with her _heka_ , but that would require her to set the figs on the floor…Maybe she could just walk in and just throw some in the bath? From the doorway, it was a bit impossible. She’d never been the greatest at throwing things, as shown by every single throwing contest she and Prince had to date ending with either her loss or the loss of the ball they were using. But even she could piff a few figs from the middle of the room. All she had to do was walk in. She poked her head out. Prince was now at the edge of the bath closest to her, in the midst of replacing the basin. From this angle his chest was visible, his skin slick with water droplets. Okay, she definitely couldn’t walk into the room without her _ba_ leaving for the afterlife halfway. Eat all the figs it is.

She was about to withdraw her head when she realised that Prince hadn’t moved from that spot. His eyes stared at the empty basin, clouded, his forehead creased into a knot of lines. She noticed the paleness of his knuckles as they gripped the basin, the tautness of his shoulders, the dark circles beneath his eyes. Seeing him like that…it was if someone had stabbed a dagger into her heart. He was usually pretty stressed because of the whole Pharaoh thing, but she hasn’t seen him this bad before. And this…this was bad.  She knew the moment he got out of that bath, he’d be swept up into whatever thing awaited him, which meant he’d put on that kingly mask she never liked and push down his problems, making things way worse. She glanced about the room. He needed to relax for a bit. Other the basin, there wasn’t much else save for a table with various cosmetics and a hand mirror on top. Her eyes eventually settled on a pile of clothes near the right corner of the bath. She looked back at Prince. An idea took root. She took a deep breath. The goddess Isis give her strength. She ran inside, whistling a tune imbued with her _heka_.

Prince had no time to react to her bursting into the room. She flung the figs at him. He instinctively shielded himself from the oncoming rain of fruit. She skidded to a halt in front of his clothes.

‘Wait...’ She had never seen him so baffled.

She grabbed his clothes, cape and belt included, his towel fluttering down from her arms. She kicked it as far as she could away from the bath. Ansu soared into the room through the window and landed on Prince’s head. The unexpected weight cause him to dip down into the water. She giggled.      

‘Wait, Mana!’

But his gargled words came too late, she had already ran out of the room, clothes in hand, trapping him in the confines of the bath for at least a little while. When she became aware of her surroundings again, she was surrounded massive columns that reached upwards to support the distant ceiling with vases depicting the tales of gods and goddesses interspersed in-between. The central hall. She looked down at the clothes in her hands.              

Now what?

She honestly didn’t think she’d get this far, sure she’d be caught on her way out or stopped. It probably wasn’t a good idea to let him be in there for too long. Last thing she wanted was to have him miss something important because of her. Though, more importantly…What is she going to do with these clothes? She can’t just leave them lying around, the clothes were unmistakably Prince’s. She glanced at a vase. They served her well over the years, but this time she couldn’t rely on them. What about her room? No, bad idea, she shared it with Master. There was the slightest chance he’d go back to pick up a scroll and find the clothes. Very slight, but not worth the risk. And besides, her room was so far away from the hall. She could bump into any number of people on her way there. Last thing she want is to bump into is a High Priest, especially Priest Set. He’d be the worst one. But at the same time, she definitely can’t just stand here! Any minute someone could walk in and–

‘Mana.’

She’s never squeaked as loud as she did just then. She looked back, barely able to catch Master’s form from the corner of her eye. He stood behind her, the Millennium Ring obscured by his loosely crossed arms. His face was wiped clean of his usual stern look for one of surprise. Followed by concern.

‘Are you alright?’

‘Fine.’ Her voice was still squeaky. She cleared her throat. ‘You surprised me.’

She still hadn’t turned around, the bundle of clothes pressed against her stomach in an effort to hide all trace of it with her body. She should have pretended to be sick. Maybe she could still get way with it?

‘Actually, I’m feeling a little unwell, I think I’m going to lie down for a bit.’

Before she could even take a step– ‘Hold it. What are you hiding?’

She clutched at her stomach tighter. She was doomed. ‘Nothing.’

‘Then why won’t you turn around?’

She knew all too well that there was a stern frown on his face. She couldn’t run away, she might drop something. It was risky, but there was only one thing she could do. She pivoted on one foot as fast as she could, sliding the bundle across her stomach and behind her back in one fluid motion. If she did it successfully, he won’t see any–

_Clang._

His face went blank. She was dead.

‘Is…that the Pharaoh’s belt?’

‘…Yes…’

‘Don’t tell me.’

She brought the bundle forwards. ‘I did.’

He rubbed his temples. ‘Mana…’

‘But!’ she said, lifting her head, ‘I only did it because Prince looked really stressed and tired. He hasn’t been resting at all, it’s obvious. I only wanted him to rest, even for a little bit.’

Her body was tense, ready for the stern scolding she knew Master was going to give her. She could already hear what he was going to say: _The Pharaoh is the Pharaoh, she can’t treat him like she did back when he was Prince. Things were different now._ She’s heard that spiel so many times in the past six months, and she was sure she’ll here it many more times in the future. Pharaoh or not, Prince was Prince. That was never going to change. Ever.

Instead, a sigh passed his lips. ‘So he wasn’t able to rest even during a bath.’

It took her a moment to realise what he had said. ‘Wait, does that mean?’

‘It’s as you think. After this morning’s meeting,’ he looked off to the side, his eyes distant ‘…I felt it be best if the Pharaoh rested.’

‘That must have been hard.’

‘I…’ he cleared his throat. ‘His Majesty was rather compliant…after beer had been split on his person.’

She stared at him. He still had his gaze averted. ‘Master, you didn’t…’

‘I cleaned his clothes of course.’

A moment of silence passed as she absorbed what Master had done. At first the giggles were small enough to keep in, but the more she thought about it, what he had to do, how he might’ve done, the more she couldn’t hold it back. She nearly dropped the bundle of clothes in her fit of laughter, but she caught herself in time. The smile never left her lips.

‘And I’m the troublemaker,’ she said.

‘You are a troublemaker.’

‘And who do you think I get it from?’

He sighed but she could see the invisible smile in his eyes. ‘Anyways–’ he stopped short. One of the pendants on the Ring had straightened, pointing directly at her.

She immediately leapt into the nearest vase, sinking into its depths with a practiced air. Only for her head to surface again. ‘The belt!’

Master grabbed the fallen belt and dropped it into the vase, just as the tap of brisk footsteps filled the hall. She tried to breathe as quietly as possible. The steps grew louder and louder before finally stopping.

‘Set.’          

Priest Set’s voice was louder than she expected. He must be close. ‘Mahaad, isn’t it time for you to be patrolling the town? Why are you dallying here?’

‘I was on my way to see how Mana fared with the work I gave her. And considering her habit of hiding in the palace vases, I was making sure she wasn’t here.’ She grinned. As expected of Master, he came up with such a plausible lie in an instant. ‘I will perform my duties once I am certain she isn’t.’

Priest Set let out a derisive snort. ‘Teaching that girl anything more is pointless.’

Mana fumed but stayed silent. As she thought, he completely looked down on her. The signs were pretty obvious– not acknowledging her when she said hello, always snorting at her whenever he found her practicing a spell. Well it was fine, it’s not like he was her most favourite person in the land either.

Master’s voice was quiet. ‘That’s not for you to decide.’

‘No matter how much you polish a stone picked up from the wayside, it remains a stone.’

She pressed the bundle close to her, burying her face in it. The scent of myrrh and cinnamon curled around her, enveloping her into a hug. Prince had put on his favourite perfume today.

‘Mana is not a common stone.’ Each word sliced through the air, sharper than any arrow. ‘Her talents will one day surpass both yours and mine.’ She lifted her head and smiled, seeing the look in Master’s eyes clearly in her mind.

He only scoffed. ‘Talents. Two years have passed and she’s yet to summon her _ka_.’

‘Summoning _ka_ is not a simple feat without the aid of a Millennium Item. And she has plenty of other fields she excels in.’

‘Those “fields” don’t protect His Majesty in the midst of battle.’

She lifted her head. She couldn’t see Priest Set but she glared in his direction anyways, her hands curling into fists, crumpling the fabric of the bundle in her arms as she did. Call her worthless she didn’t care, but to say that she couldn’t protect Prince? She could fight! She’s sparred plenty of times with Master and Prince. She was definitely not useless in battle.

It took a moment before Master responded. And when he did, his words were strong. ‘There’s more to being a High Priest than battle and power, Set.’ 

Even from within the vase, she could taste the thick haze of tension that buzzed between the two High Priests. 

‘Maybe,’ said Priest Set ‘the fault does not only lay with the apprentice but–’

‘MASTER IS THE BEST TEACHER IN ALL OF EGYPT HOW DARE YOU SAY HE ISN’T YOU BIG IDIOT!’

Priest Set looked at her. Master looked at her. She blinked at the two of them. Whoops. She had been so caught up in the heat of the moment that she forgot she was supposed to be hiding. The good part was that the clothes were still in the vase. If they hadn’t been…she didn’t want to think about it.

Priest Set turned back to Master. ‘It appears you’ve found your apprentice. I’ll take my leave.’

The two of them watched him go in silence. ‘…Now normally I’d scold you for insulting a superior…but today I’ll let it be.’

A cheeky grin spread on her lips. ‘So, can I say he’s–‘

‘No.’

She stared at the floor for a few moments. ‘Okay, I got one. He’s a pile of fish–’

‘Language.’

‘–tails.’ She wasn’t going push her luck on the matter. Tail was pretty close to what she wanted to say. It did come out of that end.

‘I’m thankful you had the mind to let go of the clothes instead of bringing it up with you.’

She didn’t have the heart to say that she had actually completely forgot she had been holding Prince’s clothes, and that it was sheer luck that she had let go of them. There isn’t a word on Thoth’s scroll that could have saved her from that situation.

‘Do you have to patrol now?’ 

‘I do. The Pharaoh has a meeting at the eleventh hour, just before sunset. Make sure you give back his clothes before then.’

‘Understood Master!’

He turned and strode across the hall, only pausing at the far door. He glanced back her. ‘And when I return, I will test you on today’s material.’ Needless to say, he had definitely heard her low groan of frustration as he left.

With Master gone, she was back to her earlier dilemma. Staying put was now dangerous since Priest Set knew she had been there. And wandering the palace aimlessly was out of the question. There had to be room somewhere nearby that no one entered…and then she remembered. There was one room that fit her needs. After scooping out the bundle out of the vase, she returned to the hallway that lead to the Prince’s bath, but walked down the opposite side. It didn’t take long before she was met with a doorway draped shut with dusty curtains. With some difficulty, she pushed them aside, sneezing as she did at the large amount of dust that fell, and stepped tentatively into the room. The musty dank smell of stale water permeated the air. It was near identical to Prince’s bath in appearance, the only difference being the thick curtain that covered the windows, diffusing the sunlight to look brown instead of yellow. She took a few more steps forwards, feeling the fine coating of grit beneath her boots. The bath itself was murky with the same grit and dust, the surface of the water invaded by pond scum.

It’s been over a decade since the Queen’s Bath was last used. As she stood in that room, eyes closed, she tried to envision the person who used it. She never met the former Queen, having come to the palace after her passing, but she had heard the stories. Like how she walked with the grace of a lioness on the hunt. That beneath her calm, a warrior’s pride lurked. That the very air bowed to her presence when she entered a room. If her husband was the kind and gentle day, she had been the mysterious and alluring night. Who she was before she came to the palace was unknown, but everyone agreed that the name Amunet suited her. She, the hidden one– obscured from view, but all the more terrifying for it. Master said he had never met a person like Queen Amunet before, and nor did he think he ever would again. She was the kind of person that only appeared once a millennia. Mana opened her eyes and sighed. It was impossible. Queen Amunet seemed to be more of a goddess than a mortal. Though one thing was for sure, Prince was definitely her son. She had heard that the former Queen had been the undisputed best _senet_ player in all of Egypt. She’d be hard pressed to find anyone who wouldn’t say the same about Prince right now. She has had a firsthand taste of his prowess. 489 games, 347 losses, 142 draws was the current score. Though, it’s been a while since they’ve played. She should challenge him soon. 

She skirted the bath to the windows and used her free arm to push past the thick curtains, showering the room with much needed light. There was another six hours till sunset. Master still planned to test her later too. She found the basin used for bathing discarded in a corner of the room, plastered in dust. She wiped it to the best of her ability with the skirt of her dress, and placed the bundle of clothes inside it. Nothing was worse than putting on soiled clothes after a bath after all. She made sure to arrange the curtain and basin in such way that one of the windows was visible before she left. When she returned, her arms were full of scrolls, her wooden tablet clenched between her teeth, and chalk between her fingers. She settled against a wall, carefully dumped the scrolls next to her, removed her tablet and poised her chalk. Less than six hours to learn everything. She could do this.

When she looked up again, the shadows had lengthened. The window told her it was roughly another hour or so till sunset. Her right hand throbbed as she placed her chalk and tablet on the ground, her arms and dress smudged white with chalk dust. She stretched her hunched-over back, looked over the mess of scrolls around her and grinned. Master was going to be blown away. She was going to ace that test of his. She used returning the scrolls back to the library as an excuse to warm up her legs, numb from being in the same position for too long. While she was at it, she returned her tablet and chalk back to the chest in her room. Her last trip to the Queen’s Bath had her fetch the Prince’s clothes and fix the curtains back to as they were when she first entered. The room fell into gloom once again. Satisfied no trace of her remained, she left.

The trek to Prince was a short one. This time when she reached the room, she didn’t hesitate to enter. He be expecting her this time. And she was right. Prince was crouched in the bath, head just above the water’s surface, Ansu long gone. He had been leaning against one of the bath’s sides with his eyes closed, though he immediately opened them upon hearing her walk into the room.

‘You took your time,’ he said drily.

She only grinned. ‘Did Ansu give you good company?’

‘She was a very good listener.’

She chuckled and walked forwards, passing where his towel lay, left from when she had kicked it. She picked it up and added to the pile in her arms.

‘Was it relaxful?’

He sighed, but the smile tugging at his lips was obvious. ‘Yeah, it was. The figs also were surprisingly good.’

‘I’ll pick some more tomorrow if you want,’ she said as she neared him. She didn’t get too close though, placing his clothes and towel at a distance he’d be able to reach without stretching before retreating back. She had her limits. ~~~~

‘That’s fine, you don’t need to.’

She settled on the ground crossed legged, back facing him. ‘I’m doing it. I never see you these days.’

‘Mm, things have been…busy.’

‘Is it because it’s _Shemu_?’

‘Partially.’ There was a small sigh as he spoke. ‘The crops have grown and must be harvested and accounted for. Preparations for the Harvest Festival to be made. Things have to be traded. My father’s tomb still has traps left unset. And…’

‘And?’

‘No…nothing.’

It was clearly not nothing. He was definitely going to brood about whatever it was later, when he thought he was alone just like earlier. She wondered what kind of expression he was making right now, behind her back. She had the feeling it wasn’t a happy one. Pressing Prince for answers wasn’t going to help matters, he could get really stubborn if he wanted to. She could only wait. Water splashed behind her, interrupting her thoughts. Her mouth dried up. Her heart, which had been pretty docile, started to beat like a dancer’s drum. She’s got to act normal. Pretend like this was nothing. It was normal. Nothing wrong with two good friends chatting while the other dresses. Absolutely nothing strange.

‘And, uh, knowing you, you weren’t eating or sleeping much during all this stuff happening.’ She slipped a bit at the beginning, but it wasn’t too noticeable. Hopefully.

The rustle of cloth. He must have picked up his towel. ‘Same could be said to you. You spent all this time studying didn’t you?’

‘How’d you know?’

‘You’re covered in chalk.’

She looked down at herself. He was right, her arms and dress were still white with chalk. She had forgotten to clean herself. From behind her, there was more sounds of cloth being rustled. Dressing already? He dried himself off pretty quick. The moment that observation crossed her mind, her face grew hot. Normal things, normal things. She was just glad he couldn’t see her face.   

‘In my defence, Master is going to test me today.’

‘So last night, you _didn’t_ steal any scrolls from library to read?’  

She scratched her head. ‘Well…’

His chuckle swirled around her, dancing in her ears, making her heart skip a beat. It’s been awhile since she heard him chuckle like that. A long time ago, back when he was actually a prince, he’d laugh and smile with abandon.

‘We’re just as bad as each other aren’t we.’

She smiled. ‘Yeah, we are.’

Talking like this felt good. It’s only been three days but it felt like an eternity since they last spoke. She pricked her ears at the light tap of footsteps behind her. He had finished dressing. She glanced back to see him approach the table with the cosmetics.

‘Mind if I do your make-up?’

He looked at her, clearly surprised by the offer, before relaxing into a smile. ‘Sure.’

She got up and helped him carry the various pots of oils, kohl, and paints to a spot on the floor near the bath, where they both sat down. She looked over the selection. He had a couple different colours for eye paints, from Nile blue to leaf green, as well as a few scented oils. There was even a small pot of rouge in the mix, something she’s never seen him wear. She picked up one of the non-scented oil pots and poured some onto her palm, the oil surprisingly cool to her skin. She rubbed her fingers together so that it coated them evenly, before applying it to Prince’s face. He winced slightly at her touch.

As she worked, they talked. They talked about random things that happened over the course of the time they didn’t see each other, like the day her hair didn’t look like a sandstorm hit it or the time he awoke to Sekhmet standing on his face. The conversation moved to her studies, where she detailed all the strange and obscure spells she found in her late-night reads, the spells she was currently working on and her confidence for Master’s test. Prince was silent as she chattered, his face relaxed, a small smile on his lips. She picked up the kohl. He closed his eyes. After dipping the stick into the pot and scraping off the excess kohl, and gently began to outline his upper lids. She missed this. They used to spend every waking moment around each other, playing games, practicing skills, studying magic. Sometimes she wished that it stayed like that, that they stayed as they were a children. Back then, her only worries were Sekhmet eating the baby chick Ansu or making sure Master didn’t find her so she didn’t have to study. And now…

‘Hey Prince?’

‘Yes?’

‘Do you mind telling me what’s up?’

It was hard to gauge his reaction with his eyes closed. She finished his upper eyelids and moved to do his lower ones. He kept his eyes closed. The silence stretched.

‘I’ll have to leave the palace soon to tour all of Egypt.’

‘The royal tour.’ Of course. Twice a year, the pharaoh visited other cities to check in on how they fair. No wonder he was stressed. It would be the first time he’s left the palace as Pharaoh. He was probably having meetings after meetings working out what to do. ‘How soon?’

‘The High Priests are still deciding that.’

Though, the royal tour wasn’t enough to make him look like he did earlier. There was more to this. ‘Did something come up about the royal tour?’

Again silence, a little longer than the last. Then– ‘Isis…has foreseen a red shadow shrouding the time of the tour.’

Her hand stopped mid-movement. He opened his eyes before glancing away. 

‘She have been divining the best date to set the tour as result.'

She couldn’t move, just staring wide-eyed at him. A large clump of kohl fell off the stick’s end and onto Prince’s tunic, sliding off onto his lap, leaving behind a noticeable black trail.

That snapped her out of it. ‘I can fix that!’ She summoned her wand and pointed it at Prince’s tunic.

The black blotch of kohl burst aflame.

She screamed. Prince yelled. The fire burned. Water! They needed water! The bath! She pushed him into the bath. _Splosh._ Behind her, the sound of running feet grew louder. She turned to see Master skid to halt in front of the doorway. He took one look into the room, seeing her still outstretched-arms and Prince, who had just surfaced, standing fully clothed in the bath, the burned blotch of kohl very visible on his tunic, before he strode towards them. Upon reaching her, he knelt down and bowed his head, forcing her to do the same.

‘My apologies my Pharaoh, for my apprentice’s actions.’

‘No, it’s fine, truthfully I’m at fault here as well.’

‘You are too kind, my Pharaoh,’ he said, not raising his head. He then turned to her, the angry glint in his eyes plain to see. His words were clipped. ‘Tomorrow morning. The Eastern Path. Levitation practice all day.’

Her eyes met Prince’s briefly, before she returned her gaze to Master. She nodded.  


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> GLOSSARY FOR EGYPTIAN TERMS:  
> Heka = magic/magical energy (also a god)  
> Horus = the falcon-headed guardian god of the pharaoh  
> Ra = the sun god who, at the end of the day, journeys through the underworld, creating the day-night cycle

The red shadow.

She pointed her wand for what felt like the 10,000th time at the pool to her right. In no time, a single fish flopped out of the water and wriggled into the air. With some more focus, it became motionless. She swung her wand around, the fish following suit, to the pool to her left, and released her _heka_. The fish plopped back into the water and swam away as if nothing happened. She crouched down at the pool’s edge, watching the fish flit by beneath the water’s surface. She had already lost sight of the one she had just put in.

Normally a vision from Isis wasn’t much to worry about. The Millennium Tauk gave the priestess many visions every day, most of them of a trivial nature. She lost count how many times Isis had discovered her hiding spot because of a vision or how many times she approached her to ask for a scroll only for the priestess to have the it already at hand. But a red shadow…she shook her head. It probably wasn’t as bad as she thought it was. The Tauk was known to give misleading messages, it was the least straight-forward out of all the Millennium Items after all. Red could mean a lot of things. It didn’t have to be like how it had been last time. She got up, levitating another fish out of the water. Yeah, she was overthinking the whole red shadow thing. It be fine. There was nothing to worry about.

A loud screech interrupted her thoughts. A blur of brown dove into view.

‘Ansu?’

Ansu squawked and flapped away, the fish she had been levitating clasped awkwardly in her talons.

‘Give that back!’

The falcon only screeched in reply. She pelted after Ansu with all her might. She was so close to finishing Master’s punishment and the last thing she wanted him to think was that she cheated. There was no time to appreciate the gardens as she ran through, her eyes never leaving the sky. Ansu dipped lower. She looked ahead to see a small copse of trees in front of her. Ansu disappeared into the thicket of leaves as she slowed to a stop at the foot of the tree the falcon had vanished into. Her brown feathers blended well with the shadows and branches, but she could make out the shape of the bird perched in the higher branches.

She held out her hand. ‘Come on, give it back.’

Ansu made no reply, only peering down at her from her lofty position.

‘You don’t even eat fish.’

Still no reaction.

Looked like she had to get it back the hard way.  

It was difficult to climb the tree. The trees she climbed nowadays were spotted with twists and knots in their trunks. This tree had smooth bark as far as the eye could see, before twisting out into several large boughs and clusters of twigs. She had to wrap her arms and legs around the trunk and shimmy her way up. It was a slow going, her arms and legs on fire by the time she hauled herself into the branches. Ansu still peered at her, not moving from her spot. She was beginning to suspect that the falcon’s odd behaviour was a message from Horus. It made sense. Yesterday she stole Prince’s clothes, today Ansu stole her fish. Horus must have been displeased with the lack of consequences. Making sure her footing was stable, she stretched upwards and pulled herself onto a higher branch. The second branch was a bit shaky but supported her. She glanced upwards. Still had a ways to go before she came close to reaching the falcon. Her arms and legs were pretty shaky, partially from all the running and shimmying and climbing, and partially from the fact she was still holding the spell to keep the fish motionless, the only thing that was keeping it alive. She yawned. The branch she was on was beginning to look really comfortable. She pinched her arm and climbed higher, slowly but surely making her way up the tree. Eventually she was only five branches away, the upper branches way too thin to support her. Her arms and legs throbbed and shook, dripping in sweat. She leaned against the trunk of the tree, the smooth bark that gave her so much trouble earlier cool to her skin. It couldn’t hurt to rest a little bit before she moved on. She checked on Ansu once more. The falcon now had cocked her head.

‘Don’t you worry, I’m going to get that fish for sure,’ she said, closing her eyes. ‘I’m just resting a bit.’ 

What woke her up, she had no idea, but it almost caused her to fall off the branch. In fact, as she hugged the branch for her dear life, she had forgotten she was on a branch. She looked down in an attempt to check how far she was from the ground, only to see a very familiar figure looking up at her with a rather concerned expression.

‘Prince!?’

She lost her grip. She didn’t even have time to blink to by the time she hit the ground, the impact knocking the wind out of her right out of her. She stayed like that for a bit, staring up at the tree, completely dazed. It was only when she came to her senses that she realised that the thing she was on, while solid, was not ground solid. No, it was definitely…she sat up, groaning at her sore muscles. Her back stung, but she ignored it, turning around. Prince lay on the ground, arms splayed, eyes scrunched up and teeth gritted.  

She panicked. He didn’t get really hurt because of her did he? ‘You okay?’

‘I’m fine,’ he said, slowly sitting up, wincing. ‘Next time, it’s best you don’t choose a tree as a place to nap.’

‘You sure you’re fine? You don’t have any bruises do you?’ She pat down his legs. ‘These aren’t broken right?’

He chuckled a little. ‘I’m fine, Mana. I won’t break my legs from catching you.’

She sat back with a sigh of relief. He wasn’t hurt. 

‘But really, you surprised me. I wasn’t expecting to see you here. You never come to the gardens.’

‘Well,’ his gaze wandered off to the side, ‘I felt like I could do with a walk. Why were you in a tree?’ 

Actually, why was she– She jumped to her feet. Prince’s appearance had thrown her off so much that she forgot all about Ansu. A groan escaped her. She was nowhere to be found. The falcon must have long since flown away. Now she was never getting that fish back.

‘Ansu stole my fish and I was trying to get it back. Accidentally fell asleep.’

‘Ansu…doesn’t eat fish, right?’

‘Nope. I think Horus is mad at me.’

She could hear the amusement in his voice as he spoke. ‘Because of yesterday?’

‘Because of yesterday.’ She sighed. So much for completing Master’s punishment. And she had been working on it since the dawn prayers.

She glanced down at him, about to launch into a complaint on how close she had been on finishing. The words never made it out. His face had withdrawn, eyes cast downwards, the arm balanced on his knee tense. Yesterday. They hadn’t seen each other since yesterday. She thought about the red shadow. She thought about how easily she dismissed it. Her hands crumpled into fists. Of course he’d be scared. Really, what kind of friend was she to only think about herself in this kind of situation. She looked down as him again, her eyes tracing the outline of his figure, mentally noting each thing she saw– his tight jawline, the finger-sized furrows in the dirt beside him. She reached out her arms, and then stopped, letting them fall to her sides. If this was last year, she wouldn’t have hesitated to pull him into a hug. There were a lot of things she wouldn’t hesitate to do last year. But still, she couldn’t leave him like this 

So she grabbed his wrist.

‘Wha–‘

And pulled him up into a run. Trees and bushes flew by as they raced through the gardens back towards the Eastern Path. Her hand was warm with sweat, her heart thumping loudly in her chest, but she knew it wasn’t because she was running. When they reached their destination, she let go of his wrist, instantly missing his warmth. 

‘Let’s play a game,’ she said, turning to face him. ‘We’ll see who can move the most fish using _heka_.’

He blinked. ‘Why–‘ he stopped. And then smirked. ‘Is that a challenge?' There was fire in his eyes she hadn’t seen in a little while.

She grinned. ‘Of course.’

She quickly explained the rules as they set up: They’ll use two pools, one filled with fish and the other empty. The goal was to move the fish one by one from the fish pool to the empty pool. The game ended when there weren’t any more fish to move, and the winner was the one who moved the most fish. To make it easier to tell who won, the empty pool would be split into two with each of them taking a half.

Finally, they were ready.

They stood facing each other, bodies tensed in anticipation. Her own competitive spirit was lit. Elaborate way to make him to keep his mind off things or not, she wasn’t planning to go easy on him. Not that she could. It’s been a long time since Prince had cast a spell, but he proved as they were setting up for the game that he hadn’t lost his edge after years without practice.

‘Ready?’ she asked, her wand raised.

He nodded, eyes trained intently on the fish pool. His purple cape had been set aside for the game. Without it, the tension in his muscles was more evident. His eyes burned with vigour. Her idea was working.

‘Go!’

They set off. Time became non-existent as she swung her wand back and forth, moving fish between the pools. Every now and then she’d peek at Prince’s side to see how he fared, and saw him, his clothes damp with sweat, a fierce grin spread across his lips and a boyish twinkle in his eyes. The tiredness, the stress, it all had been washed away. He was shining. He shone brighter than Ra above them. Her heart thudded. She clutched at her chest. Even now, in this moment, her Feelings rose up. Every time the two of them got together, they rose up. She was getting tired of it. They were friends. They have always been friends, right from the very beginning when she first came to the palace. She loved every moment of their time together, how much fun they had over the years. She didn’t want that to stop. And why should it? Because he’s Pharaoh? Because she felt differently? She looked at him again, watching him sprint from one pool to the other, a fish bobbing along behind him as he ran. Master was wrong. There was nothing different about the Prince now and the Prince before. There was no reason for her to treat him any differently, and she wasn’t going to. Things were perfectly fine as they were.  

Prince’s voice teased into her thoughts. ‘If you continue playing this way, it’ll be an easy win for me.’          

She shook her head. Now’s not the time for heavy stuff, she had a game to win. ‘Says the person who is having a hard time with their _heka_.’

His smile broadened. ‘I wonder about that.’

She put her everything into the last hours of the game. Ra was well passed his zenith by the time the two of them had emptied the pool of fish. They faced each other, panting from all the _heka_ they exerted. Everything about her body burned. Her face was so hot she swore she easily could fry food on it. Prince didn’t look much better, his whole body dripping with sweat.

‘How…many…’

Prince glanced to his left at the now-swarming pool of fish. ‘…I think…it’s even.’

She collapsed onto the ground, wand abandoned. There was no winner?

‘That was fun…’

Prince was doubled over, breathing heavily, but the smile from before hadn’t left his face. She grinned. Well, it didn’t matter who won. She already achieved what she set out to do.

A small plop disrupted her thoughts. She whipped her head around to the now-empty other pool. Or should’ve-been-empty pool. One fish swam without a care beneath the clear surface. A loud squawk caught her attention.

_Ansu._

The fish leapt out of the water. They lunged forwards, hands outstretched. Everything slowed down to a crawl.

_Splash._

The pool was mores shallower than she thought it was. Had she been standing, the water wouldn’t go much further than her shin. She hauled herself up onto her hands and knees, and glanced to her right. Prince was on his stomach, clothes completely soaked. Wriggling in his hands, the fish.

She looked at him. He looked at her. They burst into a laughter.

Drenched to the bone, underneath the burning Egyptian sun, Mana laughed like she had never laughed before. There was something weirdly liberating about sitting in a pool with him, laughing her head off. There were no pharaohs, punishments, falcons, or Feelings to worry about. Just the two of them getting really competitive over a fish. This was how it should be.  

She got to her feet, the last traces of mirth still twitching on her lips, and offered a hand to Atem. ‘You win this time.’

He smiled, his usual radiance restored, and took her hand.

They settled themselves on the stone tiles of the pathway, spreadeagled to absorb as much of the sun as possible, and watched the faint wisps of clouds pass by in silence. Ansu danced above them, screeching every so now and then. Really, she had to wonder whether the falcon has planned all of this. She might have not encountered Prince today had she not have chased after her earlier.

‘Thank you.’

She craned her neck to look at him, only to see he had already turned to face her.

‘For yesterday and today.’

‘Don’t worry about it,’ she said. ‘I’m just glad I got to see you.’

They fell back into silence. The wisps of clouds slowly faded, allowing the cornflower blue of the sky to stretch on unmarred.

He was the one to break it. ‘It’s like the past is repeating itself.’

She closed her eyes. ‘Yeah.’

The last vision from the Millennium Tauk that featured red had been years ago, before she met Master on that fateful day on that dusty street corner. Queen Amunet and Pharaoh Akhenamkhanen were alive and ruling and Prince was only a child. Isis had just come into possession of the Millennium Tauk, the first of the current generation of High Priests to inherit their Millennium Item, and had received her first vision– A sycamore tree dyed a solid blood red. She immediately alerted the Pharaoh, Queen and the High Priests of the time. After many long discussions, it was then determined that the sycamore tree was meant to be the Queen. The red remained a mystery. Since no one was able to discern what the red signified, the Pharaoh decided to assign many guards to protect the Queen as a precaution. Days passed, and nothing befell the Queen. Suspicions arose as to whether the Tauk’s vision had been interpreted correctly and the amount of guards slowly decreased as more time passed, until none remained. It was only then did assassins slip into the palace. Their target, however, not the Queen but Prince. As it so happened, the Queen had been with him when the assassins struck, the two of them taking a nighttime stroll in the gardens as usual. When the guards and the Pharaoh found her, the assassins had already been dealt with and she lay on ground in a pool of blood next to her crying son.  

It had been a story told to her in bits and pieces over time, some from Prince, some from the servants who were old enough to remember the Queen’s sad fate, and some from Isis and Master. She didn’t know what to think of when first heard it, only hoping that a red-painted vision would never happen again. And now, it had.

‘I don’t want something like that to happen again.’

She opened her eyes and glanced at Prince. He was now looking at the sky, hands folded atop his stomach.

‘I plan to have the High Priests, guards and servants remain here in the palace. I’ll journey alone–’

‘No way! Absolutely not!’

He turned to her. ‘But–‘

‘What if you get hurt? How’d you think everybody will feel? They’d never forgive themselves.’ She’d never forgive herself. ‘What…’she stopped, swallowing back the tears that pricked her eyes. Her voice grew soft with her next words. ‘What if it’s you this time.’

His eyes widened. 

That was what she was scared of more than anything. The one who died last time may have been his mother, but he had been the one assassins wanted. A sycamore tree could’ve also meant him.  

‘Sorry. I wasn’t thinking.’

She sniffed, wiping her eyes. ‘Leave the stupid, reckless stuff to me. I do it better.’

There was snort of laughter. ‘That’s true.’

For once, she didn’t think. She rolled closer to him and grabbed his hand, closing her eyes. His hand was warm, alive. She wanted it to stay like that. She opened her eyes to find herself gazing into his eyes, a deep purple like the sky at sunset.

‘Everything will be fine. You got the strongest people in Egypt protecting you. Including me, of course.’

She didn’t know what the red shadow was. It didn’t matter. All that mattered was that he wasn’t going to face it alone. She squeezed his hand, eyes never leaving his. He’ll return safe and sound, she’d make sure of that.

His eyes softened. He squeezed her back.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> GLOSSARY FOR EGYPTIAN TERMS  
> The Eye of Ra = another term for the sun, which was strongly associated with Ra, the sun god  
> The Eye of Horus = another term for the moon, which was sometimes associated with Horus, the falcon-headed guardian god of the pharaoh

In the days after their game in the gardens, all of her time was spent either practicing spells or reading scrolls. Though she probably read more scrolls than practiced, sitting in library from dawn to the late hours of the night copying out scroll after scroll, memorising the incantations for any useful spell she found by heart. It got to the point that the palace scribes joked she was a part of the library, since there never seemed to be a time when she wasn’t there. Almost every night, she had to drag her exhausted body from the library to her bedroom, located inside the practice room. The distance wasn’t really that far, though after a day’s worth of peering at scrolls and writing things, her bedroom might as well have been located in another land. Sometimes, she didn’t make it to her bed, waking up to Master’s gentle shakes on the practice room floor. On more occasions then there should be, she’d wake up in the library in a puddle of her own drool, cheek and tablet smudged with the chalk. That was another thing, she was always covered in chalk. At first she’d clean it off whenever she was more chalk than person, but after she had to take three baths in the span of two hours just to be completely free of chalk, she gave up.  

Today, as per usual, she was seated at one of the many tables in the library, a scroll already spread out in front of her, the scraping of her chalk harmonising with the quiet murmur of the scribes around her. The spell she was working on would allow her to summon a small flame for night-reading purposes, which, while was handy with her habit of sneaking out and reading at night, definitely had more uses outside of reading. Maybe she could even try to improve on the spell to make the flame bigger! A bigger flame would definitely be better than a small one, it be easier to burn things.

A flutter of heavy wings roused her out of her studies. Ansu sailed through the small slit in the wall that gave the library light and alighted on her table. The scribes didn’t bat an eye at the new company, continuing to do their work. It was almost expected for the falcon accompany her as she studied, occasionally bringing a gift of fruit for her to snack on. Most times, she perched on the table and preened. Other times she’d land on her shoulder and peer quizzically at the scroll she was in the midst of copying. Today though, the falcon waddled over and stared her straight in eye. She smiled in greeting, scritched Ansu’s head, and continued writing. She almost had the scroll fully memorised. She should be able to start practice a little earlier today.

A sharp jab. She yelped, clutching her left hand. Loudly. The scribes around her glanced up, surprise and curiosity written clearly in their eyes. She ducked her head in embarrassment, an awkward laughter braying from her mouth. Ansu showed no remorse, using the offending beak to clean her wings.

‘What was that for?’ she said, lowering her voice to not make any bigger of a scene than she had.

Ansu stopped her preening and met her gaze. Her eyes held an uncharacteristically hard glint.  

She frowned. ‘Are you trying to stop me from studying?’

The falcon chirped.

‘But why?’          

Ansu chirped again.

‘But I don’t have time, I–’

In all her years, she’s never heard the grating rasp that came from Ansu’s beak before. And they’ve been together ever since she had scooped her up as a scraggly chick off the ground almost ten years prior. The falcon fixed her with the most piercing glare she’s ever seen.

‘…Okay, one break couldn’t hurt.’

Ansu squawked and hopped onto her bangle, her claws finding purchase in the grooves of the colourful pattern of stones. Clearly she didn’t trust her to make good on her words. She knew her too well.

‘When did you get so smart?’

The falcon fluffed in indignation. She giggled and walked out of the library.  

The temptation to head to the gardens had been strong, but she managed to steer herself away. If she went to the gardens, she’d never want to leave. She didn’t want to spend too much time on her break. She still hadn’t given up on that early practice. 

The central hall was surprisingly empty for the early afternoon. Normally there’d be at least a few servants bustling between the columns, arms packed with linen or platters of food, or large jugs of water balanced precariously on their heads and baskets on their backs. When she entered though, there wasn’t a single person as far as the eye could see. The effect of the royal tour perhaps? She didn’t walk too far in, settling herself against the nearest column and awkwardly groping for the pouch of food she kept on her waist with her free hand. When she finally caught a hold of it, she emptied it out its contents onto her lap: three figs she plucked on her way to the temple in the morning, and two rusks of bread and a dried strip of salted fish she saved from breakfast. She picked up one of the figs and bit into it. She hoped Prince was eating well too. She hadn’t seen him since their game. It was the longest period of time she’s gone without seeing him. It was hard not to head to his room at night and talk with him to the early hours of the morning, and there were days where she did start to do exactly that. And every time she did, she always turned back. The royal tour was a huge event that required a lot of planning and preparations. He was probably busier than ever, swarmed by officials and priests wherever he went. Last thing she wanted was to disturb him the few moments where he was able to rest. He needed all the rest he could get. 

And she needed to get stronger.

The day of the tour had finally been set– a month from now, on the night the full moon would rise. Master had been the one to tell her, during one of the rare lessons she had with him in this busy period. According to him, Isis had determined the night of the full moon to be the safest. Under the Eye of Ra during the day and the Eye of Horus during the night there was a lower chance of something bad occurring. The weird thing though, as he told her all of this, he didn’t mention the existence of the red shadow. She got the feeling that he knew she knew.   

‘Did you manage to see anything more?’

Priest Set’s voice nearly made her jump. She shrunk down, doing all she could to make Ansu, still balanced on her wrist, and herself take up as little space as possible, effectively keeping them hidden behind the pillar. He was clearly not alone as a set of lighter steps could be heard between his heavy treads. Her head drooped. Why did he have to come when she was relaxing? She actually had been having a nice time.

‘I’ve seen nothing but the shadow. The Tauk won’t show me more.’

Her ears perked. Isis? She hasn’t seen the other for a long time. She would’ve loved to have a chat with her, maybe ask her for a few good spells for her to practice while she’s at it, if not for the fact Priest Set was there. She really didn’t want to deal with him right now, especially after last time. Maybe she could find Isis afterwards.

Priest Set’s voice cut through her thoughts. ‘Try harder. The Pharaoh’s safety is at stake.’

‘I’m aware.’ Isis’s voice, though quiet, carried clearly across the hall. ‘But the Tauk is different from the other Items. It’s by its will that I am allowed to peer into the future, not my own. You should already know this well.’

He only snorted. ‘Well regardless, there is nothing that we cannot handle as long as we hold the power of the Millennium Items.’

‘Even so, we should prepare for the worst.’

Priest Set stopped. Her eyes widened. Isis?   

‘I never thought I’d hear you of all people doubt our power.’

Mana echoed his sentiments. The High Priests were the strongest gathering of magicians and priests scouted from all across Egypt. With the power of the Millennium Items alongside their natural abilities, nothing could get past them…right?  

When Isis spoke again, her voice was calm and level. ‘Our duty is to protect the Pharaoh, but it is also to protect Egypt. As it stands, we know nothing of the threat before us. If something were to happen to the Pharaoh, chaos will reign. We need a queen.’

Mana’s heart clamped painfully in her chest. A queen. The one thing she tried not to think about.

‘There’s no rush. We’ll have plenty of time after to discuss the next queen.’

‘Set, we may have our differences, but even you must admit that it’s safer to determine such matters before we embark on this journey.’

‘There is nothing to determine,’ he said, resuming his walk. ‘The queen candidate already resides in the palace.’

Her heart stopped. What?

‘But it’s better to make it official,’ said Isis. Her steps fell alongside Priest Set’s, blending together. ‘That way there’ll be no doubt of her legitimacy.’

‘It’s of little importance. The Pharaoh will return safely.’

She closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths. If she thought about it, it made sense that the next queen had been chosen. It be weird for something so important to go six months without being decided.

…So what happened now?

If she was a true friend, she be happy for Prince and his…Queen. No, she had to be happy for them. She didn’t have choice…did he have a choice? Did he decide who he was going to marry? Did he consider– she shook her head. What was she thinking. She didn’t even want to be Queen.

‘Though,’ he said. ‘It is true Mahaad’s little apprentice is more useful to us as the Queen, right of this moment.’

‘What does that mean?’

Both priests’ heads turned sharply in her direction. She had stepped out from behind the pillar, Ansu now perched on her shoulder. Isis’s eyes widened. There wasn’t even a flicker of surprise in Priest Set’s.

‘Mana! How long have you been there?’

She turned to Isis. ‘What did he mean by me being more useful as Queen?’

The priestess’s eyes darted to her and then to him. Never had she seen the other so uncomfortable. ‘Well, you see–’ 

He cut her off. ‘You serve more use to the Pharaoh as his Queen than playing as an apprentice.’

‘Set!’

Mana ran. Isis shouted her name, but she continued to run. Where, she had no idea. She just had to get out of there, away from Isis, away from Priest Set. Ansu managed cling onto her as she went, talons biting deep into her shoulder, runlets of blood staining her dress. She ran out of the hall. She ran out of the palace. She ran out into the gardens, and even then she didn’t stop. She couldn’t. Priest Set’s words were chasing her, taunting her in that characteristic disdainful voice of his.

_You serve more use to the Pharaoh as his Queen than playing as an apprentice._

The ground dipped without warning and she fell hard, face sliding across the dirt, scraping her arms and legs as she did. She didn’t get up.   


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> GLOSSARY FOR EGYPTIAN TERMS:  
> Akhet = the season where the Nile would flood. This was important because after the Nile returned to its usual size, it would leave a layer of rich soil that could be used to grow crops.

Sleep alluded her that night. Just like it had the night before and the nights before that. No matter how exhausted she felt during day, when the sky finally darkened her eyes remained wide open, staring into the impenetrable, thick black of her room. The hours would drip by, slowly, slowly, slowly, as she lay in her bed, tossing, turning, rolling, squeezing her eyes shut, reciting spell incantations under breath, counting frogs, just doing anything, anything, that could beckon sleep to her. Tonight though, after listening to the Master’s gentle snores from the bed near hers for a while, she sat up. With a practiced ease, she slipped out of bedroom without a sound, tiptoeing through the scrolls and tools left lying about on floor of the practice room, careful to not knock over any of the baskets on her way out. The palace hallways were dead, with not even the scuttle of the lizards disturbing the heavy silence. The only sign of life she found were the small flickering flames of the occasional oil lamp. She continued to wander the hallways. The desert chill had sunk deep into the stones and seeped into her bones, causing an involuntarily shiver to run across her back. She should have brought her blanket with her.

At some point in the midst of her wanderings, she found herself in the Throne Room, the room feeling as stifling as it did the first time she ever entered, looking more like a tomb than a grandiose hall in the painted blacks and blues of the night. Not even the few oil lamps that remained lit could help brighten the gloom. She stopped at the foot of the dais and looked up. Even in the dim light, she could make out the shape of the throne. For something that was supposed to represent a pharaoh’s power, it was small. Carved from the same stone as the wall behind it, it sat atop the dais, looking down on everything below it with disdain.

She hated the Throne Room. It was big and gaudy and pretentious, always acting like it was a bigger deal than it really was. Everyone treated it like it was some sacred thing, but really it was just a room. Maybe a little better painted and a little more ornate than other rooms in the palace, but a room nonetheless. The throne especially was so revered. It was only a chair, not much different from other chairs she had seen. Why was this one so special? Why did it matter that Prince was the one who could sit on it? She remembered the coronation ceremony, all the pomp and festivities, the utter respect people had when talking to Prince despite half of them being so casual with him days before, all because he sat on this chair right here. His face that day, to her, had looked like a funerary mask. Everything changed after that day. She saw him less, he stopped smiling as often, he was always stressed or tired. She realised just how much he meant to her, just how much it hurt to see him like this, fettered by his duties, weighed down by all of Egypt, and these Feelings she had no idea that were there, suddenly bloomed. All because of this throne.

Isis’s words echoed in her head. _We need a queen._

There was a part of her in all of this that delighted that she was the one chosen. Being Queen meant marrying Prince, which meant that all the urges from her Feelings had no reason to be supressed. Kisses, hugs, casual touching, stuff she was horrified she wanted to do now suddenly would be welcomed and even encouraged. She would be able to spend so much more time with him.

But.

They wouldn’t be friends anymore. They wouldn’t be able to play around like they did in the gardens, she couldn’t do stuff like steal his clothes or do his make-up. There’d be pressures for them to have children, pressure on her to raise them. Everything would change. And not for the better. She turned away and walked out of the room.

The hallways when she wandered this time were small and cluttered. Not the good kind of cluttered like practice room, but the small, suffocating kind, where things just seemed too close for comfort. Her head buzzed. All the thoughts she had been keeping back now swarmed her mind, jittering and crawling about.

Could she even be Queen? Not that she wanted too, but if she had too, could she do it? Other than her closeness with Prince, she didn’t have any other qualifications– she didn’t have poise or dignity, she didn’t know anything about ruling, and she usually started trouble rather than fixed it. How could she rule all of Egypt? And the people, would the people even accept her as royalty? The former Queen had been a force of nature, godly and hard-to-read. The shadow she cast was large and deep and suffocating. Compared to her, she was as charismatic as an ant, and just as easily squashed too. There was no way anybody would accept someone like her as the next Queen. She looked down at her hands. Even after her bath they were coated in a fine dusting of chalk, bringing out the scores of callouses on her palms and fingers. A magician’s hands through and through. And that’s all she’s ever wanted to be. Queens were bound by different rules to magicians. As Queen, she couldn’t read all those weird and quirky spells in the library, she couldn’t practice spells or spar. And Master, Master wouldn’t be her master anymore, he’d be her servant, just like he was with Prince. Just he did with Prince when he became Pharaoh, he’d treat her differently. There’d be no more punishments or scoldings, no more chats or banter, no more lazy days where the two of them just sat around in the practice room reading. She hated the thought of that just as much as she hated the thought of ending her friendship with Prince. And children, that was one of the big duties of a Queen. Could she handle children? Was she even ready for such a huge responsibility like that? She’s seen other girls her age down in the town, nursing babes and carrying baskets piled high with food or materials. They seemed so mature. She, on the other hand, still liked running around and hiding from Master and playing with Ansu in the gardens. What about–

She tried to drown out these thoughts by humming the song she used to call Ansu over and over. While it wasn’t a perfect strategy, it did quieten some of the more noisy thoughts. She needed to get out of the palace for a bit.

The moon greeted her with a lopsided smile as she set foot on the balcony, one of many located in the palace. She hugged her arms as a light breezed brushed her, chilling her exposed legs and arms. She took a few deep breaths, taking in the crisp night air. She forgot how good it felt to be outside, after spending so much time indoors. Outside, her thoughts were clearer, had more space to breathe. She was able to sort them out, one by one, examining each one as she did. She never realised how big her ball of insecurities was about being Queen was. For something she really tried not to think about, she had a lot of things she was worried about. Queen Amunet, children, Master, magic– those were just the tip of the dune of worries. And there was something she had forgotten in all of this. The whole reason why Isis had wanted her to be Queen was because she had been uncertain about the High Priests’ abilities to protect Prince. Mana was supposed to be a back-up plan of sorts. So, in other words, she’d become Queen because…she shook her head. No, nothing would happen to him. Even if the High Priests failed, as Isis feared they would, she’d protect Prince. She promised him back in the gardens she would. He will return safe and sound.

_You serve more use to the Pharaoh as his Queen than playing as an apprentice._

She grimaced. Priest Set might be right about that, maybe in the grand scheme of things she was more useful as Queen than a magician. She shouldn’t let Isis’s doubt shake her, the High Priests were incredibly strong. To doubt them, not only would she be doubting Isis, because even if the priestess doubted herself, there was no denying her strength, but Master too. And Master was the strongest magician in all of Egypt. But even then, she couldn’t just wait around in the palace with Grandpa Shimon. She just didn’t have that kind of courage.

She took one cursory glance at the balcony before she turned to leave, taking in the stark emptiness of it. Taking in the solitary figure which stood off to the side, at the balcony wall.

Her head immediately whipped back. There was no mistaking it. Even under the sliver of light provided by the moon and stars, she could tell that the person standing there, arms resting atop of wall, gazing at the distance horizon, was Prince. He also seemed to be unable to sleep, as he was still dressed in his sleeping kilt. He must have been standing there long before she had arrived.

At first her heart swelled with happiness just from seeing him, but then she remembered why she had come up there. And the more she thought about that, the more of the thoughts that had swarmed her earlier returned, this time as niggling little things that bit at the edge of her consciousness. He definitely would know about the Queen thing. She wondered what he thought about it. Half of her wanted to march up to him and ask him straight, how she dealt with most problems, but the other half was too scared of his answer to ask. If he said he wanted her to be Queen, how does she respond? Say yes? Say no? Either way would leave a bad taste in her mouth. She turned to leave. She’d come to the balcony to clear her thoughts, but in the end her mind had just become muddier than the banks of the Nile in _Akhet_.

And then, the humming started. It was soft and slow, swirling in the air in a dance that could only be heard. She stilled. It was a little off key and some of the notes were wrong, but it was recognisable nonetheless. It was one of the many songs she had made up back when they were children, just like the song she made up to call Ansu. But this one, this one was special. This was the only song she had asked Master and Prince to help her make. Honestly, she had forgotten about it.

But Prince still remembered it.

They were friends. They would always be friends, no matter what. It didn’t matter what anybody else thought or wanted, as long as they wanted to be friends, they would. Feelings could go jump in Nile, she had a promise to upkeep and a shadow to beat.    

The melody followed her as she walked back to the practice room, as she settled herself into bed. The melody curled itself around her. Her eyelids grew heavy and drifted off into a peaceful, dreamless sleep.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> GLOSSARY FOR EGYPTIAN TERMS
> 
> Heka = magic/magical energy (also a god)  
> Ba = the portion of the soul that contains the personality of a being/object  
> Sheut = literally a person's shadow  
> Day of Hathor = an ancient Egyptian festival celebrating the goddess Hathor, the mother of all gods  
> Ka = the portion of the soul that detaches itself from the body after death (in the case of Yu-Gi-Oh, this is the portion of a person's soul that can manifest as a monster)

The library was unusually quiet when she entered. Normally there’d be a few scribes around doing their own thing, but today there was nobody. She opened a chest, retrieving the scroll she had been working through, before settling at one of the tables. The papyrus crinkled under her fingers as she carefully unrolled it, smoothing it out to reveal the complicated strings of hieratic text across its surface. The spell detailed in this scroll was a concealment spell, able to mask its user and anything else from detection. She had started the scroll the day before and planned to master it by today. While not a combat spell, it would be able to hide Prince from enemies or even sneak him away from a battlefield if need to be. She retrieved her clay tablet and chalk from the pouch on her waist and began to copy where she last left off.   

The royal tour was three days from now.

In three days, she’ll have to fight off the red shadow. Three short days. It wasn’t enough time. She shook her head. No, it was enough time. She had been practicing like crazy the past month, learning and mastering new spells. She might not be able to summon a _ka_ , but she was strong without it. She will protect Prince.

She didn’t know exactly how much time had passed when she lifted her chalk and stretched her aching back muscles, but the window told her it was well into the afternoon. She got up and packed her things. It was time to practice. The central hall was still the same as ever was when she walked in, the same columns, same floor, same vases. She walked down the hall, one hand running across a passing column, the smooth surface of the sandstone brushing against her fingertips. She hadn’t seen Isis since last time. And probably for the best because she wasn’t sure what to say to her. She still didn’t know how she felt about Isis deciding her future behind her back. She stopped once she reached the centre of the hall and summoned her wand, feeling the familiar thrum of _heka_ buzz within it. Instead of immediately casting the concealment spell, she waited. It didn’t take too long before she heard what she wanted to hear– footsteps. She closed her eyes and focused. The footsteps grew louder.

‘Conceal me from sight, unite my _ba_ with my _sheut,_ and let me make home in the shadows unseen.’

The air around vibrated with her _heka_. She remained still. The footsteps drew closer and closer, until the person, whoever it was, was close enough to touch her.

And that they did. ‘Um, are you alright?’

She opened her eyes to see a slim girl with hair that was cut at her neck hefting a large jar of water under her one of her arms, a shade of concern in her eyes. The spell didn’t work. Mana smiled, hoping that her disappointment wasn’t visible. ‘I’m fine, just tired.’

The girl retracted her hand and nodded. ‘Not surprising. You might want to pick a better place to rest though, you don’t want to get caught. I suggest the gardens. Lots of hiding places. Anyways, best go.’ She dipped her head and walked passed her, disappearing through the far door.

Mana sighed but readied her wand again. Her practice continued, her reciting the spell incantation for every set of footsteps she heard. Not all the footsteps she heard entered the hall, some only passing through the nearby hallways, which was a little annoying but shen’t dwell too much on it. It wasn’t their fault. As for the ones that did, every single person that came across her either stopped to make sure she was alright or passed by looking at her oddly. The few servants that did know her or were at least familiar with her antics were the only ones to ignore her, but that initial flicker of recognition didn’t go unseen. Not a single one passed by unaware she was there. The first few failures didn’t bother too much, she never expected to master the spell that quickly. But as time went on and more people passed by noticing her, her frustration grew. It wouldn’t have been too bad if there had been a few successes in amidst the failures, at least she’d be making progress. But failure after failure after failure after failure after failure–

She fell to knees, gripping her wand so tightly that her knuckles became white. What was wrong with her? Why couldn’t she do this? The spell wasn’t that difficult. She needed to master it, she had to, it was only three days away. Three days until– She slumped forward. A black pit rose from the pit of her stomach and swallowed her heart, squeezing it between jagged teeth till it screamed.  Her breaths came in pants. She lifted up her free hand. It trembled. 

Fear.

She was scared. She was so scared. Of the red shadow. Of losing Prince. Of being left behind. Of not being strong enough, not being courageous enough. A month ago, it was easy to say she could beat the shadow. But now, now it was so close, it felt so real. This was really happening. This was a real threat. Prince might really–

Her vision became a wobbly blur. Tears dribbled down her nose and speckled the backs of her hands in watery dots. Her insides burbled, all twisting and swirling together to form one massive knot in her chest. She can’t cry, she needed to practice. She needed to do this. She had to be strong. She had to protect him. She tried to climb to her feet and get ready for the next set of footsteps, wiping her eyes and nose, but her legs shook and wobbled so much she ended up falling back down. Her face was a hopeless mess of tears and snot and whatever else.

He might really– how could she– what, what if she failed? She couldn’t rely on the High Priests when one of their own doubted their abilities, and not just anyone, it was Isis, the holder of the Millennium Tauk, the one High Priest gifted with the power of foresight. If Isis couldn’t believe in the High Priests, how could she? It was all up to her. And she…she wasn’t anything special. A common stone picked up from the wayside is still a stone, isn’t that what Priest Set had said all that time ago? Back when all she worried about was getting found out about the fact that she had stolen Prince’s clothes. Maybe she really didn’t have talent, she was failing something as simple as a concealment spell. Her chest heaved as a sob wracked her body. She couldn’t even imagine a life without him. She didn’t want to. She wouldn’t.

 ‘Mana, what’s wrong?’

She turned and through the haze of tears she saw Prince, kneeling in front of her, concerned. His appearance only brought on a fresh wave of tears, ugly sobs slipping from her lips. She sniffed loudly and made another attempt to stop the flow of tears.

‘F-fa-failed…c-concealment spell…I-I c-can’t–’

_I failed. I can’t do the concealment spell. I can’t protect you._

She was failure. The red shadow was going to come and take him and there was nothing she could do about it. He was going to be gone just like that. In three days, he’d be taken from her and there was nothing she could do.

She was pulled to her feet. She wiped her eyes a third time and tried to see where Prince was taking her, only to blink. He was…getting into a vase? He was still holding her wrist, making his movements awkward, but eventually he managed to get inside.

She sniffled. ‘Prince?’

He turned towards her and gently tugged her closer. ‘Hurry.’

She was a little confused but got in anyways, a lot quicker than he did. He sat down and tugged at her wrist again. She complied, sitting down beside him. Her tears had dried up in her confusion.

He brought his lips to her ear. ‘Do the concealment spell now.’

She didn’t try to hide her bewilderment. How was she going to cast the spell over the two of them when she couldn’t even do it over herself? He only slipped his hand into hers and squeezed it.

_Just try._

Whether it was because of the warmth of his hand or the reassuring firmness of his grip, when she closed her eyes and concentrated, it felt different. The air seemed to stretch and move as she prodded it with her _heka_. There was no harm in trying.

‘Conceal us from sight, unite our _ba_ with our _sheut,_ and let us make home in the shadows unseen.’

A thin layer of the air detached itself and wrapped around her. She shifted a little, feeling the layer shift alongside her. No, it wasn’t on her but rather just above her skin. She glanced over at Prince to ask whether he felt anything, only to find he wasn't there. His hand still gripped hers. Did…did she?

‘My Pharaoh!’

She almost didn’t recognise the voice of Priest Kalim. He was usually so quiet and soft-spoken, so to hear him shout so loudly was first for her. ‘Shada, are you certain the Pharaoh is here?’

‘It is what Mahaad had said when I consulted him,’ said Priest Shada. ‘I see no reason for him to lie.’

‘But it’s odd. Why would the Pharaoh be here?’

‘The worries of the Pharaoh are great, especially in this trying time. There may be a myriad of reasons that brought His Majesty here.’

There was a pause, and then– ‘Shada, you don’t think the Pharaoh is in one of these vases do you?’

‘…Surely not. While it’s true as a young prince he was known to frequent the palace vases, that is how Mana also came to do it, he’s most certainly has grown out of it.’

She held her breath. The silence was agonising, time trickling down to a drop. She gripped Prince’s hand.

‘You’re right.’ said Priest Kalim. ‘It was a nonsensical thought. He must be elsewhere.’

The footsteps retreated into the distance. She released the spell with an exhale.

‘I did it.’ She couldn’t hide the note of disbelief in her voice.

‘I believed you could.’

He leaned over and wiped off the sticky mess that was on her face with his cloak. Or tried too. The two of them fit pretty snugly in the vase, so there wasn’t much room to manoeuvre, and it didn’t help that he hadn’t let go her hand yet. She took the portion off him with her other hand, stretching the fabric to that it encompassed both their bodies, smiling her thanks as she did. Now that she was calmer, she understood why she couldn’t perform the concealment spell earlier. She was too desperate, too worked up. To cast spells her mind needed to be clear and focused, and that was the last thing she had been earlier.

‘This,’ said Prince ‘reminds me of all the times we hid in vases when we were young.’

She blew her nose and the last traces of the murky feeling in her heart away. ‘Hiding from Master.’

‘And my father.’

‘And sometimes Grandpa Shimon.’ She paused. ‘Don’t tell him I call him that.’

‘I won’t.’

She cracked a wobbly smile. The cry and the practice had taken a lot more out of her than had she thought. ‘We really hated studying back then huh?’ ~~~~

He chuckled. ‘Yeah. We’ve changed so much since then.’

‘Except for your height.’

‘ _I’ve_ grown taller.’

‘Barely.’

‘Just you wait, by next year I’ll be taller than you.’

‘Willing to bet on that?’

He grinned. ‘Naturally.’

She leaned back and closed her eyes, the last dregs of murkiness slipping away. It was warm inside the vase. It was warm being wrapped up in Prince’s cloak, his scent, myrrh and cinnamon, entwined in the fabric. His body radiated heat, much like the midday sun.

‘Hey Prince, remember when we first met?’

She felt him shift a little, probably into a more comfortable position. ‘Of course. It was today after all.’  

‘Really?’

‘Yeah,’ he said. ‘You arrived five days after the Day of Hathor.’

‘I didn’t know that.’

All she could remember of the day she arrived was clutching at Master’s robes and staring wide-eyed at the large imposing entrance of the palace. Her life before that moment was a blur of sitting at street corners and talking to the strays. She hadn’t really paid all that much to festivals before becoming an apprentice. That was the day she had met Prince too. Finding another child her age made the palace a lot less intimidating.

‘We met in a vase back then too didn’t we,’ she said. 

His voice was soft as he spoke. ‘Mother had just passed days before. I didn’t want anyone to hear me cry, so I hid.’

‘And then I came along.’

She didn’t miss the slight chuckle in his voice. ‘And then you came along.’

Their first encounter had been pretty chaotic. After coming across the crying Prince, she had leapt inside and hugged him without a word. Or maybe she had said something, it was so long ago she couldn’t remember. What she definitely did remember was pulling him out of that vase and running. Because it had been her first time inside the palace, she had no clue where she was going and as a result, they ended up in a lot of places they shouldn’t have. But it made him smile and that’s all that mattered. In some ways, things hadn’t changed much since then. 

‘That was the only time you’ve ever called me by my name too.’

She made a face. She remembered that. ‘And got into huge trouble with Master. That’s was your fault. You just said your name.’

‘I only answered what you asked.’

She only humphed in response. He laughed. She let the sound wash over her, relaxing further against the vase wall. When was the last time they spoke like this. Back when she stole his clothes? Their game in the gardens? Both of those felt like they happened years ago, when it only had been a month. And what a short month it had been. Three days.

‘You don’t have to worry about protecting me so much.’

She glanced at him. He looked up to meet her gaze, eye soft with understanding. ‘That’s the duty of the High Priests and guards.’  

‘But what if they fail?’ The words slipped out of her mouth so easily and hung in the small space between them. What if they failed.

Prince didn’t immediately respond. ‘What makes you think they’ll fail?

All the fears she had came crowding back all at once. She took a deep breath. She could do this. ‘I…I overheard Isis talking to Priest Set. She thinks that there’s a high chance that…that something…’ she faltered. He squeezed hand. He understood. ‘She wants me to be Queen just in case.’

It was slight, but he flinched when she said the word queen. As she thought, he knew. She didn’t mention that she knew about her being candidate for Queen too. Even after everything, she was still a little scared of what he’ll say.

‘Are you…angry at her for thinking like that?’

‘…Honestly,’ she said, ‘I’m not sure. It’s not like I don’t understand where she’s coming from but… Seeing her doubt the High Priests, it’s scary you know? Master and the others are all so powerful, the most powerful, and to see her just as scared and as unsure as me…if someone that strong is thinks they can’t do it, how am I going to do it? I’m not strong. I can’t even summon a _ka_. I…I’m scared.’ Tears welled up in her eyes. She didn’t try to stop them. ‘I’m really scared. I don’t want to lose you.’

His hold on her hand was firm. ‘I’m still here. I’m still with you.’

‘But in three days–’

‘I won’t go that easily. I can fight too.’

She sniffed. He was right, he could fight. Unlike her, he could summon _ka_ despite not being able to summon his personal _ka_. He was strong. But that did nothing to lessen the pit of doubt and fear in stomach.

Prince shifted closer, their shoulders pressing up against each other. ‘It’s fine Mana,’ he said, his voice soft, ‘you don’t have to honour your promise. You don’t have to protect me anymore.’

What? No, she didn’t want that! She was turned to look at him, words of protest on her lips when she saw his eyes. She’s never seen them so tender, so gentle. Her words melted.

‘Instead, I’m going to promise you something.’ He squeezed her hand, just like she had back in the gardens. ‘We’ll both return here, unharmed.’

Despite the river of tears dripping down her face, she smiled. ‘That’s a weird promise.’

‘Is it?’

‘Yep. No way can one person handle that kind of weird promise by themselves.’  She squeezed his hand, just like he had back then. ‘I promise too. We’ll both return here, without a scratch.

‘Yours is weirder.

She smiled. ‘It is.’

The red shadow, whatever it ended up being, they were ready. There wasn’t a single thing in all of Egypt that could stop the two of them. For once she didn’t know whether her desires were fueled by friendship or Feelings, and honestly, it didn’t matter. He was important to her and she wanted him safe. And she knew he felt the same.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> GLOSSARY FOR EGYPTIAN TERMS
> 
> Jb = literally the heart. Considered to be the portion of the soul that holds emotion and a person's moral judgement  
> Khopesh = a curved sword with a hooked end used by Ancient Egyptians  
> Ka = the portion of the soul that detaches itself from the body after death (in the case of Yu-Gi-Oh, this is the portion of a person's soul that can manifest as a monster)

The day of the royal tour had finally arrived.

The early morning sun burned in a lapis sky, burnishing the desert below. The royal procession sweated as it tracked its way through the tall dunes, a clamour of hooves and metal and feet of three hundred or so odd people crumpled to a dull thud by the sands. They had set off from the palace at the seventh hour of the night, tramping through the still sleeping town. Some curious faces had watched them from the roofs of the mudbrick houses, sleep still dusting their eyes. Mana squinted ahead of her. It was impossible to see where Prince rode through the throngs of people and animals, being able to catch a glimpse of his cloak or the swish of his horse’s tail at best from where she and Master were at the rear of the procession. If it wasn’t for the fact that she knew Priest Set was riding next to him, she might’ve never have known where Prince was, the High Priest’s tall form sprouting from the centre of the procession. While she never expected to be right next to him, she didn’t think she’d be this far. Priest Kalim, who also had been stationed next to him, also could be barely seen, his head just poking above the throng. She didn’t know where Isis was, only knowing she was supposed to be nearby Prince. According to Master, Priests Shada and Akhenaden rode at the front, Priest Akhenaden’s Millennium Eye being perfect for scanning the horizon for imminent threats. Ansu also accompanied them, after a stubborn refusal to stay behind, and now soared above the procession.

The first rest house was a fourteen hour trek from the palace. They were eight hours into the journey, having stopped twice to rest and water. Nothing had happened. And she was beginning to hope that nothing would. 

‘Your mood seems to have improved.’ Mana looked to see Master eyeing her from atop his horse. ‘As of late, you’ve haven’t been yourself.’

She glanced away. So he had noticed. Up until now, he made no comments on her increased study ethic or her insistence to learn more battle-oriented spells during their occasional lessons.

‘I don’t blame you,’ he continued. ‘It’s only natural to be concerned over the safety of the people you lo– care for.’

That’s true, it was natural for her to be worried– wait, he said that weirdly. It sounded like he was about to say… she looked up. Master’s face was composed with the most neutral expression she had ever seen him wear.

Her face burned, and it wasn’t because of the sun. ‘How long!?’

He coughed, averting his eyes. ‘…The past three years.’

She wanted nothing more right now then to bury herself into one of the sand dunes. Her hands had to do for now. Master had known. The whole time. She thought she had done a pretty good job of hiding her Feelings. Apparently not. What’s more, three years? Has it been going on for that long?

‘How could you know before I knew?’

He glanced at her sharply. ‘When did you–?’

‘…Seven months ago.’

The dumbfounded look on his face made her want to sink into the sand even more. He lowered his head into hand with an exasperated groan. ‘Mana…’

‘I’m not good with these kind of things, okay?’

He muttered something but the only words she caught were ‘so alike.’ So alike to what?

‘Anyways,’ said Master, ‘I’m surprised you never told the Pharaoh how you felt, considering how reckless you usually are.’

‘Wait, how do you know I never told him?’

He looked at her pointedly. Right.  

‘But still, that’s weird coming from you. Normally you’d say “the Pharaoh is Pharaoh now, and you have to treat him like one” or “you can’t play with him like before Mana, he’s the Pharaoh.”’

‘You say that as if you listen to me.’

‘I listen!’

‘Only the things you want to listen too.’ He glanced at her. ‘I would think this matter is no different in that regard.’

She casted her eyes away from his questioning stare. There was a loud screech. She held out her arm and Ansu floated down, alighting gently on her bangle, and immediately let out a sharp squawk.

‘Are you sure?’ Mana asked.

She squawked again with a more insistent tone.

Master cut into her conversation before she could ask the falcon a second time. ‘What did Ansu see?’

‘A sandstorm. There’s a sandstorm approaching.’ She couldn’t hold back the smile on her face anymore. ‘A red one.’

His eyes widened. She couldn’t help but laugh, the huge weight on shoulders melting away like if it never existed. A red shadow. A red sandstorm. There was no doubt about it, this sandstorm was what Isis had foreseen. All that worry for a sandstorm. It wasn’t like sandstorms weren’t dangerous, but compared to being attacked, they were nothing. She grinned. Looked like it be super easy to uphold her new promise with Prince.

‘Okay Ansu, tell everyone about the sandstorm got it?’

She chirped.

Master’s voice floated down from above. ‘You’re the only one who can understand her.’

‘Ah, I forgot. Wait Ansu!’ She fished into her pouch, hoping there was a leftover stub of chalk and a shard of clay that she forgot about from all her studying.

‘Here.’ He held out a small slip of papyrus and an already inked brush.

She took them. Ansu hopped onto her shoulder as she quickly scrawled out a short message, immediately flapping the slip in order to make the ink dry faster. The quicker everyone knew, the better. It was easy to get lost in a sandstorm with all the sand flying about, most times you weren’t able to see what was right next to you. They might have to stop for a bit and let it pass. When the ink dried, she rolled the slip into a scroll and affixed it to Ansu’s leg with a few strands of her hair twisted into a twine. The falcon spread her wings and took off into the sky.

Master watched her as she went. ‘Isis will be relieved to know. She had been worried that something similar to what happened to Queen Amunet would occur again. She… still feels guilt over what happened.’

Her hands clenched. Isis… she had no idea. ‘That wasn’t her fault though! Nobody knew what a red sycamore tree meant.’

He closed his eyes. ‘I know. I’ve told her that many times, but she thinks I’m only being kind.’

Images of the priestess sitting in room, divining day in and out, desperately trying to see what the red shadow, praying at the temple that it wasn’t as she feared, flooded her mind. Her words back then hadn’t come from a place of doubt, like she had thought, but from belief. Belief that her vision would be fulfilled in the worst way possible. Belief that she would be helpless to stop it. They had been the same.

‘I have to say sorry to her.’

‘No, you don’t,’ he said. ‘I heard what happened from Isis. She shouldn’t have tried to decide such things without your permission. She is the one who needs to apologise. I…too owe you an apology.’

She looked at him in surprise. Why did Master need to apologise? He wasn’t there. And then, she remembered. There was one more thing she had learnt that day. She glanced away. So everyone had known except her it seemed.

‘I should have told you from the very beginning that you were being considered as a potential Queen. You deserved to know. But I didn’t. I bound myself to secrecy, as per the law.’ He fell silent. The dry sift of sand as both her and Master’s horse plodded forwards filled the empty air. ‘However,’ his gaze met hers, eyes gentle, ‘I now understand that there times where we must let _jb_ dictate what is right and wrong. What is right and what is law are not always the same thing. This, I’ve learnt from you Mana.’

Shock coursed her body, as she stared up at Master. She taught Master something?

‘What,’ he said, smiling, ‘a master cannot learn from his apprentice every so often?’

‘Ah, no, I mean, yes. Wait, no? Yes? Rrrgh!’ Her head was so muddled. She shook her head and focused on him. ‘When did I teach you that? And how?’

‘There’s no need for you to know.’

‘Tell me,’ she pleaded.

‘No.’

She groaned. She really was curious on what she did that he had derived such a deep lesson from. And more importantly, whether she could do it again.

‘I’ll tell you one thing, though.’

She looked up eagerly, only to be met with a serious gaze.

‘What you decide to do in the future is your decision, and your decision alone. If you decide to become Queen, as long as it is by your own mind you come to this conclusion, press forwards. Even if you decide to neither be Queen nor my apprentice, as long as you’re happy, it’s fine. Don’t let likes of me or Isis or anybody else influence you.’

‘So, let my _jb_ decide?’

He smiled. ‘Right.’ His gaze wandered forwards, eyes distant. ‘Time is like the Nile. It flows forwards, never ceasing from its path, always constant, always changing. Decisions influenced by the things around you will only bring regret. Time’s course is merciless. The things said and done in the past cannot be taken back or rewritten. Regardless of how much you wished you hadn’t acted in that manner, how much you wish for things to return to how they once were.’

She felt a sharp pang in her heart. Regardless of how much she wished for things to go back.

‘We can only go forwards, direct time’s flow with our decisions, with our _jb_ guiding us. Do you understand?’

She nodded.

‘Good–’ A sharp piercing whistle rang across the procession, bringing it to a halt. Mana cast her eye forwards, wondering whether they were taking a break when she saw it. Past the dunes, a wall of red lay. It billowed out, stretching endless across the horizon, blanketing everything in a cloud of red sand. Master tugged his horse to a stop.

‘So this is the shadow,’ he said.

It deserved the name. An impenetrable wall of redness. Pure chaos incarnate. She stood there, transfixed. She’s seen sandstorms before, but none of them had ever seemed so…menacing. Or large. Master handed her a cloth to wrap around her nose and mouth. In front of her, guards, priests and servants alike were doing the same, some tying cloths over the noses of the few donkeys and dogs scattered around the procession. Ansu hadn’t returned yet. She whistled the tune she usually used to call Ansu, making sure to cast the war cry spell as she did so that she’d be able to hear her regardless of range. Hopefully she returned soon. It was dangerous for bird to fly around in a sandstorm. Now that they had stopped, Mana plunked herself down onto the sand with a satisfied sigh. Walking around in the desert for fourteen hours was a lot tougher than she expected, even with the breaks. She glanced at the sky. With the sun being well past midday at this point, she estimated that they had another three hours of walking till they reached the first rest house. She didn’t know whether to be happy at that fact or groan that there was still more walking. Her eyes wandered, watching as the servants around her sprawl themselves on the ground, loads ditched, chatting amicably, and guards too settling themselves on the ground, spears lain beside them. Even the High Priests had dismounted from their steeds for a quick bit of respite. She smiled. It was crazy how one thing could change everyone’s mood so much.

There was a _flomp_ beside her as Master sat down, rotating his shoulders as he did. ‘You’re not running off to see him?’

Her face burned. It was weird that someone else now knew. ‘Ah well, maybe a little later. He must be tired.’

‘Is that so.’ There was an uncharacteristic glint of amusement in his eyes. She gulped. Oh no. ‘How considerate. I thought you’d be sprinting over and ready to give a nice big hug.’

‘I don’t do that!’

‘Oh I see. I suppose all the instances of the times you did it last year are all my memory playing tricks on me then.’

She fumed in embarrassment. He was going all out in his teasing. But she wasn’t going to take this lying down. She had something of her own. ‘I’m surprised you’re not going to Isis to see how she’s doing, since you guys are so close and all.’

‘What are you saying–‘

Just at that moment, Ansu took the opportunity to land on her shoulder, screeching and squawking. She stroked her feathers, frowning. She’s never seen her so distressed before.

‘Ansu, slow down. I don’t understand you.’

She glanced at Master, about to apologise for the noise but stopped, staring. Three of the pendants of the Millennium Ring stood up, pointing in the direction of a sandstorm.

And then came the thud of hooves on sand.

Master bolted onto his horse’s back and dug his heels in its sides. ‘Bandits!’

From the top of the sand dunes, a black shadow of bandits on horses tumbled down, arms up and blades glinting, the red of the sandstorm behind them. The guards shouted. The servants screamed. People and animals scattered in a directions. She saw Prince leap onto his horse, rallying the High Priests with a shout. She ran towards them, summoning her wand as she did, her heart hammering, her mouth dry. The bandits clashed with the procession. A fresh wave of screams. She dodged the running servants, terror carved clearly into their faces. Why was she so far!

Ahead of her, the battle between the High Priests and the bandits had started. Priests Set and Kalim, who were the closest to Prince, had already summoned their respective _ka_ and unleashed a barrage of attacks onto the enemies, their khopeshs swinging alongside them, flashing in the sunlight. She lost sight of Prince.

Then, the sandstorm hit.

The winds whipped her hair into her face, the haze of red obscuring anything within two arms’ distance of her. Even with the cloth tied around her face, it was still hard to breathe, the sand clogging her noses and mouth. The clash of metal on metal, the screams, the thud of hooves and feet, everything was muffled. Even so she pressed forwards, ears following the muted sounds of battle, eyes scrunching up in an effort to minimalise the sand getting in. Every so often, someone would appear out of the gloom, scampering as fast as they could before disappearing again. Ansu’s talons dug into her shoulder as the falcon tried to not get blown away. A horse barrelled past her. Someone stumbled out of the haze, immediately face-planting into the sand.

She rushed over. ‘Are you alright?’ she shouted.

The person met her eyes. It was the girl that had stopped to talk to her back during her first attempt of the concealment spell, three days ago. There was a jolt of recognition in the girl’s eyes too as she nodded and struggled to her feet. Mana helped her up, steadying her as the winds buffeted the two of them. She looked at the girl. She couldn’t see much of her face due to the scrap of cloth tied around it, but her eyebrows were creased with pain. As much as she wanted to rush over to Prince, she couldn’t just leave her without at least making sure she’s safe. Another horse galloped out of the haze. Black clothes. Her heart leapt into her throat. Bandit. She pointed her wand just as the bandit wheeled around, sword readying to strike.

‘Trip!’

The bandit fell from his saddle, crashing into the sand. She grabbed the girl and pulled her into a run. She was surprised that worked exactly like she thought it would. Looked like the tripping spell she learnt could be used for more things than just tripping people. They ran blindly for who knew how long. Mana spotted a pile of abandoned pile baskets and travel chests, and moved towards it, the girl trailing along behind her. Upon reaching it, she released her wrist and began stacking the chests and baskets into a makeshift barrier. It wasn’t great, but it would be better than nothing.

She pointed at the barrier. ‘Hide here!’

The girl nodded and limped her way to the barrier, crouching against it. After making some final adjustments so that she was sufficiently protected, Mana turned. A hand gripped her wrist. The girl was looking at her with fearful eyes.

‘I’ll be fine.’

She held her gaze before looking away, releasing her grip.

‘Thank you.’ Mana ran away.

She could no longer hear the fight. She didn’t even know where she was. People still popped in and out of the haze, running, always running, but not in any uniform direction. Whenever she saw someone fall, she immediately ran to them and helped them up, making sure that they were able to run. She was getting better at dispatching any bandits that entered her field of view, pointing her wand at them and casting the trip spell, and telling their horse to run before running herself. It wasn’t much, but at least this way it be harder for them to catch anyone. She continued to run. Her eyes stung and watered, her legs burned, her heart hammered. But she ran. She had to find Prince. No matter how much he could take care of himself, no matter how many High Priests protected him, in this kind of situation, everybody needed help. And they had promised. Both of them will return unharmed. Both of them won’t only protect themselves, but each other. There was no doubt in her mind that right now, he was the one in the most danger. She swore. Everyone had let their guard down. The red shadow, it wasn’t just one thing. The red came from sandstorm, the shadow were the bandits. There was no way anyone would’ve guessed that. She only hoped that everyone was alright. Judging from the muted screams and shouts around her, they weren’t.

Just as suddenly it started, the sandstorm stopped.

The first breath of fresh air had her cough up a storm of her own. She ripped off the cloth on her face, still hacking and coughing, and wiped her stinging eyes. Ansu shook off the coating of dust on her feathers and took to the wing. Eventually, the coughs subsided and she took a glance at her surroundings, trying to get her bearings. The sun had sunk since she had last saw it, the sky a wispy blue. The desert floor was a wide river of footprints, baskets and chests protruding out of its choppy surface.

And in the centre was Prince.

He stood, flanked by bandits on all sides, one hand held up to his neck. His eyes were focused in front of him, expression unreadable. She followed his line of gaze to a large man atop a burnt horse, clouded in the same black of his bandit brethren, who held up the limp body of a girl by her hair. She was cut and bruised, blood speckling her clothes and the sand below her feet, but Mana recognised her instantly. She covered her mouth in horror. It was the girl she had saved earlier. Or, thought she had saved. Her body dangled loosely in the air, unfeeling. Only her eyes betrayed that life still flowed through her, wincing at the pain of having her hair pulled. The High Priests were scattered, their respective _ka_ out, their khopeshs drawn, and faces pained.

Prince and the bandit stared down at each other, neither flinching from the other’s gaze. Prince’s hand twitched. A flash of light. A blade. Her blood ran cold. He was holding a blade to his neck. The bandit flinched. After exchanging looks and nods with his companions, he tossed the girl. She hit the sand with a dull thud.

Prince lifted the blade from his neck.

The bandits immediately swarmed him. The High Priests spurred into action, making their way to where he was. More bandits came to stop them only to fall victim to their swords and _ka_. She sprang to her feet, charging directly at the swarm. It broke apart. Prince was on the ground, bound in ropes, one of which lay slack in the sand. The bandits immediately scrambled onto their horses, kicking them into a gallop. The slack rope snapped taut. There was moment where their eyes met. His widened before he was jerked away, dragged across sands. She ran after him.

‘Ansu!’

Ansu swooped down and attacked the rope. Around her, the High Priests were also leaping onto their horses and urging them to follow. She was falling behind.

‘Again!’

The falcon swooped. The rope remained intact.

‘One more time!’

As Ansu was about to dive, an arrow was loosed, narrowly missing her wings by a fingerbreadth. Mana whistled for Ansu to return. She just couldn’t. She slowed down to a stop, watching the bandits and the High Priests disappear into the distance, Prince along with them. She fell to her knees.

‘I’ll get Prince back.’

She looked up to see Master on his tan horse with Isis sitting behind him. Both their eyes held determination. She nodded.

With a loud ‘hup’, they galloped off after the bandits, leaving Mana alone amidst the carnage.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TRIGGER WARNING! DESCRIPTIONS OF DEAD BODIES ARE IN THIS CHAPTER! PLEASE BE WARNED. ===============================================  
> GLOSSARY FOR EGYPTIAN TERMS
> 
> Journey to the west = a euphemism for death. Ancient Egyptians believed that the underworld was west of the Nile.  
> Send to Osiris = a euphemism for death. Osiris is the god of the underworld

The procession was in tatters. Musical instruments, chests and baskets were strewn all over the sand, abandoned by the servants in their haste to get to safety. Said servants were now picking their way back, leading back donkeys still laden with baggage. Dogs too had been scooped up, and brought back to where the procession had been. The guards injured during the battle were already being attended to by the survivors, wrapping wounds up with scraps of linen. Mana’s shoulder, which had been gouged by Ansu during the sandstorm, had already been attended to, the beige linen blending in with her dress. She hadn’t realised that her shoulder had been hurt until someone ran up to her and insisted she get treated. When she asked why, the man looked at her strangely and pointed at her shoulder, slick bright red with blood. So much blood. Blood on the sand, blood on the people, blood on her. Corpses littered the desert floor. The air hummed with the wails and howls of the grieving.

There was a crowd of people huddled around what she presumed was another corpse, but the amount of people around this one was much bigger than any she had seen before. She found herself walking towards them, drawn like a moth to a flame. They parted ways as she drew closer, some of them recognising who she was, allowing a clear view of the centre of their huddle.

It was a boy, around her age. The front of his tunic was stained black with blood. An older woman sobbed silently into his chest, her body heaving with each quivering breath she drew. She looked at him. Blank sunset-violet eyes, wild spiky hair kissed by the sun, cuts and bruises everywhere, blood blood blood, blood on the Millennium Pendant, blood on his clothes, blood– she closed eyes for a moment and took a deep breath before she looked again. He was handsome in a pretty way, date-coloured eyes and long, black, frizzy hair, his body lean with muscle. She could easily imagine some of the younger palace servants swooning over him in life. Now, his tangles of frizz meshed in with the sand below, his eyes calm, staring up unseeing at the sky above. She crouched down and closed his eyes. It was the least she could do. An arm snaked out and gripped her wrist in a claw-like grip. She turned to see that the sobbing woman had lifted her face and was staring right at her with frenzied eyes. Tears had carved well-worn paths on her cheeks. She wasn’t by any means an old woman, but grief had creased face, aging her considerably.

‘You,’ she said. ‘You’re High Priest Mahaad’s apprentice right? I’ve seen you help him during the festivals. You’re a priestess right?’

‘Ye-yeah. I’m a priestess-in-training.’

‘If you’re a priestess then please,’ her grip tightened ‘please help him on his journey to the west.’

She was taken aback. Perform the funerary rites? While she was familiar with what went into prepping a body for burial, and had even helped prepare a few as a part of her training, she’s never performed the funerary rites by herself. Not to mention... 'I'm sorry, I don’t have tools to do it on me right now, so I can’t–’

‘Please.’ It was one word.  Desperate and full of anguish. But behind that, there was love. Love for the person in front of her.

‘Okay.’

‘Thank you,’ she whispered, releasing her.

Mana turned her attention to the boy. Mummifying was impossible, they just didn’t the right tools or the resources for it. Not to mention, she didn’t trust herself enough to mummify a body on her own. No, it had be a prayer, there was no other option.

‘What’s his name?’ she asked.

‘Isesi. His name’s Isesi.’

She closed her eyes and began to recite. Normally prayers were usually said during the preparation of the body and when the body was buried, and were spoken over the course of many days. But she didn’t have days, so she mashed all the parts that made sense into one prayer. As a result, she stumbled over her words a few times, found herself stopping as she tried to think of the next thing she could say, and overall just being a jumbled mess. But no one said anything. When she finished, the woman clasped her hands with her own and thanked her over and over.

She looked back at Isesi. It felt wrong to just leave him out in the open.

‘I’ve read once,’ she said, ‘that in the past, our ancestors used to…send people to Osiris by burying their bodies in desert.’ She turned to the woman and smiled. ‘I’m sure Osiris wouldn’t mind us doing the same.’

The woman stared at her. And then, her face crumpled, tears flooding her eyes, dripping down her nose. Her hand shook as she gripped her hands again. ‘Thank you, thank you so much.’

The burial was quick. Everyone around them, women and men, made quick work of the pit. Isesi’s body was then lowered down as reverently as they could, before they filled it all up with sand. She said a few quick words before they buried him, her voice a little more confident. Once it was done, she waved them all goodbye and left. Every corpse she came across she stopped and asked the mourners, if there were any, the person’s name and recited her mishmashed prayer, instructing them or anybody around to bury the body in the sand. It didn’t matter if it was a bandit’s or not. It wasn’t her place to judge who went to the afterlife. Her prayers eased the grief-stricken and the mournful, at peace in knowing that their loved ones wouldn’t suffer in darkness for three thousand years, and will continue to live on in the animals around them. Eventually, her work brought her to the makeshift barrier she had made earlier. No one had taken it down yet. She ran her finger across the top, disturbing the layer of sand that coated it, as she rounded the side.

And hugging her legs, head in knees, was the girl she saved. She had disappeared earlier when Mana returned to the remnants of the procession, the only thing she left behind was the dent from her body lying in the sandy floor. The girl didn’t look up when she approached, staying in her curled position. Now she was closer, she could see the purplish red blotches of bruises swelling on her arms and legs. Her left shoe was missing, revealing a gash the length of her foot. How she managed to walk this far was a mystery.

She crouched down. ‘Are you okay?’

She didn’t respond.

Mana tried again. ‘You should go see someone about your foot.’

Nothing.         

After waiting for a few moments, she got up and rummaged through the chests and baskets until she found a scrap of linen she could use, and returned to the girl. ‘Can you straighten your leg? I’m going to wrap your foot.’ 

She wordlessly straightened her leg. Mana began to wrap the gash, making sure her bindings weren’t too tight. In the middle of the desert, without access to the Nile, she didn’t have water to wash the wound in. There was medicine somewhere, someone had used some on her shoulder, but she had the feeling that if she left to get it, the girl would disappear again. And next time, she might not find her.

‘Why are you being so nice to me? Aren’t you mad?’

Mana glanced up. The girl was watching her, the dried tracks of tears visible on her cheeks. ‘Mad at what?’

‘At what? About earlier of course! You were there, you saw what happened.’

‘That can’t be helped,’ she replied, returning her attention back to her wrapping. ‘None of it was your fault.’

She was silent. And then–‘You don’t know what happened, do you?’

Mana continued wrapping. The linen hung looser than she’d like, so she started again. She wasn’t good at this. 

‘…After you left, I waited here for a bit. I was going to wait till the sandstorm passed, but then I got worried about you. So… I tried to follow you.’ Her laugh was bitter. ‘Almost immediately after I left, that huge bandit from earlier found me. I tried to run but…I’m no match for a horse. I was dragged through the sands by my hair to where the Pharaoh fought. The sandstorm didn’t rage where the Pharaoh was.’ Her hand covered her eyes. ‘The bandit lifted me up. Either the Pharaoh handed himself over or my life was forfeit. I… I thought I would die. What’s the life of one servant compared to the life of the Great Pharaoh? They’re not comparable. But he…’ she faltered. ‘The Pharaoh drew his dagger and pressed the blade to his neck. My release or his life. The rest you know.’

Mana finished wrapping the girl’s foot, tying the end.

‘…You must regret saving me. The person who killed the Pharaoh,’ she said, a wry smile on her lips. ‘I would too, if I was you.’

She met the girl’s eyes. ‘What’s your name?’

‘Oh, um. Nanu.’

‘Then Nanu,’ she said ‘even if I knew all that was going to happen, I would have still saved you.’

Nanu stared at her in disbelief. She didn’t blame her. ‘How can you not hate me? Don’t you and the Pharaoh care for each other? You can’t say that you don’t! I saw the two of you three days ago, coming out of a vase. You have every right to be mad.’

She was right. Honestly, as Mana walked back to the procession, she had thought the same. If she hadn’t saved that girl then Prince would still be here. If she had left the girl behind when that first bandit attacked… No. She wasn’t that callous. She couldn’t just leave someone to die for sake of someone else. That wasn’t her. And she never wanted that to be her. She looked at Nanu, looked at the desperation that trembled in her slim frame, and wrapped her into a hug. Nanu stiffened.

‘You don’t have to feel guilty. It’s okay for you to be alive right now.’ She closed her eyes. ‘I don’t regret saving you. Prince wouldn’t either.’

Regret. There was so much she regretted. The front of her dress grew wet as Nanu began to silently shake in her arms. She patted her head, letting the girl cry. But, she definitely, definitely, didn’t regret saving Nanu.

When Nanu finally calmed down, she helped the girl up, brushing away the sand on her clothes and the mess of snot and tears that was on her face with some spare linen. She ended up accompanying her as she walked around sending off the dead, Nanu being a great source of comfort for the grieving while she helped dig a pit for the body to be buried. In between visits, they talked. Nanu had been surprised to learn Mana wasn’t another servant but in fact an apprentice to one of the High Priests. Mana had been surprised to learn there people in the palace who thought Master was handsome. They continued to work like this until the sun dipped below the horizon and twilight began to fall. Tents were pitched for the night. There been no word from High Priests.

‘Hey Mana.’

‘Hmm?’ she said through a mouth stuffed with bread. They were sitting on the ground, a little ways from the middle of the camp, sharing a platter piled high with slightly stale bread for dinner.

‘Are you…are you okay?’

She swallowed. ‘No. I’m not.’

She looked down to her hands, thumbing a cut she hadn’t noticed before and feeling the other girl’s eyes turn on her. ‘I can’t stop thinking about what happened. I can’t stop worrying about what might happen. I can’t stop regretting everything I did in the past. But at the same time, I can’t find it in myself to cry. Which is funny because before this, I cried just at the thought of him being gone. Now that it’s happened...’ she closed her eyes, ‘it’s like there’s nothing left in me.’

She kept all her Feelings jarred up and sealed deep inside her, pushing it back in whenever it tried to escape. Over the past month, she just been supressing everything, Feelings, fear, doubt, everything, until it had overflowed, dripping down as tears on her face three days ago. It must have kept flowing out even when her tears dried, how else could she explain why she felt nothing right now. The jar was broken, shattered into a thousand pieces, and there was nothing inside. Even if she picked up the pieces and assembled the jar, it still be empty. She’d still be empty.

‘You love him right?’

She smiled. ‘Yeah. I do.’

And she never told him that. Why didn’t she tell him? Because she didn’t want things to change. Because she valued their friendship over everything. So she ignored everything as a result. She ignored the fact he was Pharaoh and called him Prince, she ignored her Feelings, and, in the end, she ignored him because she was too caught up in herself and her own emotions to really be attentive. Why had he been on the balcony that night, ages ago? What had he been feeling during all that time she spent studying, did he feel lonely? Afraid? Actually, what had he felt about the whole red shadow thing? She never asked. Back in the vase, she had been the one talking and he had been listening. It should’ve been the other way around. It was his life that was in danger, and yet she didn’t know anything about how he felt. What he felt. What kind of friend would do that? Between the two of them, who was the one who was the most conscious of their differences in position? Him? No. It was her. She’d like to think that she didn’t treat him differently after the coronation, but she did. She knew she did. And it wasn’t just because of her feelings either, that in itself was an excuse she used.

Queen.

Really, what made her run when Priest Set said she was candidate for Queen? Why wasn’t she more angry at Isis? At Master for not telling her? She had every right to be. Isis had been going around trying to decide her future for her, while Master knew but said nothing. That is, if she really hadn’t guessed that she was a candidate for Queen. What made her run that day wasn’t Priest Set telling her about the whole Queen candidate thing, it was the fact she now had to deal with it. It wasn’t just some thought hidden in depths of her heart, it was a real thing. If she really hadn’t known or cared about it beforehand, there’d be no reason for her to have thought so much about what kind of pressures and responsibilities the new Queen would face or compare herself to Queen Amunet.

There was no point lying to herself. The jar had shattered.

She had been scared of his role as the Prince of Egypt. Had he not been the Prince, the Pharaoh, she would have pursued him wholeheartedly without a thought in the world. It because he was Pharaoh that she had been so adamant in “things remaining the same”. It was because he was Pharaoh that she had supressed her burgeoning feelings.

_Decisions influenced by the things around you will only bring regret._

That was what Master had said. And he was right. Right now, all she felt was regret. An endless hole where her heart once was. A hollow void. That was regret.

‘You know,’ said Nanu ‘I think it’s okay for you to be empty. Why do we always have to feel something? What’s wrong with feeling empty every now and again? Sometimes the absence of feelings is a feeling in of itself. Don’t you think?’

‘I guess so,’ she said.

‘Everyone goes through sadness differently. When my younger brother died, I cried for days. But my older sister didn’t cry at all. She continued to serve at the palace as if nothing had happened. One night, I woke up to someone singing. It was my sister. She was at our younger brother’s bed, stroking it while softly singing. She wasn’t crying but she was still sad. Maybe it’s the same for you. Maybe when you’re really sad you don’t cry or feel sad. Maybe for you, sadness is emptiness.’

She smiled. Nanu was really trying to make her feel better. ‘I don’t think that’s really it, but thank you. For everything.’

Nanu smiled. ‘Least I could do.’

There was a squawk from up above. Mana jumped up and ran to the edge of camp, wand out and ready. Ansu had spotted something. She scanned the horizon while Nanu caught up to her, puffing.  Then she saw it– a single rider galloped towards the camp. She recognised the horse the rider rode as one of theirs. She lowered her wand and waited until the rider came into view. 

‘Priest Akhenadin!’                     

Priest Akhenadin reined his horse into a stop next to them and dismounted. The Millennium Eye gleamed under the pale light of the moon.   

‘Any news?’ she asked.

He shook his head. ‘They know the desert too well. Once they lead us away from the procession, they split up. The High Priests have been searching for a sign of them since.’ His hands clenched. ‘I fear at this point that the Pharaoh may be–’

‘He’s not dead!’

Priest Akhenadin stared at her. She covered her mouth. The words had slipped out before she even realised it.

‘I–I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to say that.’

‘It’s fine, child. I already know what is in that heart of yours.’ He looked off out into the desert. ‘I would be out there still, if not for this old body of mine. The other High Priests intend to scour the desert all night.’

She didn’t stop to think. She leapt onto Priest Akhenadin’s horse. The horse snorted and pawed the ground, but settled once it got used to her. It had been awhile since the last time she rode, but she found herself at ease once she took hold of the reins. She wheeled the horse around.

‘Child, even if you take my place nothing you will help find the Pharaoh. Come down this instance.’

Her eyes met with Nanu. She nodded at her.

_Go._

She dug at the horse’s sides and she was off, galloping into the dunes.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> GLOSSARY FOR EGYPTIAN TERMS
> 
> Heka = magic/magical energy (also a god)  
> Ka = the portion of the soul that detaches itself from the body after death (in the case of Yu-Gi-Oh, this is the portion of a person's soul that can manifest as a monster)  
> Ma'at = the Ancient Egyptian concept of balance and order (also a goddess)  
> Apophis =the Ancient Egyptian god of unbalance and chaos  
> Jb = literally the heart. Considered to be the portion of the soul that holds emotion and a person's moral judgement  
> Khopesh = a curved sword with a hooked end used by Ancient Egyptians

Night had well fallen, the full moon cascading its silvery glow over the desert, bathing the sands. She slowed her horse to a stop, held out her arm and whistled. Within moments, there was a fluttering of wings as Ansu alighted onto her waiting wrist.

‘It’s dangerous for you to fly so late, so go back to the camp okay?’

Ansu squawked and shuffled her wings but didn’t budge from her perch.

Mana sighed before stroking her feathers, a small smile on her face. ‘You’re one stubborn bird, you know that?’

Another squawk and Ansu took off back to the skies. Mana watched the falcon as she went, before nudging her horse into a trot. A cool wind swept across the desert, scattering grains of sand. Away from the bustle of the camp, she was struck just how lonely the desert was. Nothing stirred except the wind on the sand.

Prince was alive. She hadn’t realised that’s how she thought until she had heard Priest Akhenadin say he might be… gone. When Nanu had said it, it had been out of guilt. However Priest Akhenadin... she didn’t really know what but there was something about the way he said it that bothered her. It was like he was trying to make as if Prince was really gone. And that she refused to believe, there was no way he’d go that easily. Their promise may be broken, but she still intended to keep its frayed ends together until the very last moment.

It was the only thing right now that she could hold on. He was alive.

The hours and landscape blended into one seamless, eternal night. Occasionally in the distance, she spied the silhouette of a High Priest cantering across the dunes or the shape of Isis’s _ka_ Spiria sweeping across the deep blue sky. She scoured the sands for any hint of anything. Ansu eventually grew exhausted and perched precariously on her good shoulder while she searched, head tucked under her wing. The night stretched on. Cold tendrils of wind stroked her arms, causing her to involuntarily shudder.

Mana buried her face in the horse’s mane as he settled into walk. Her body ached all over. Her eyes struggled to stay open. Prince. No, not Prince. To her, he wasn’t Pharaoh or Prince. He was still the boy she had met so many years ago in a vase in the palace. And that boy had called himself Atem. It felt weird to change the way she called him after so many years. But at the same time, it felt so right. She had to stay strong for Atem. He must be cold right now. Cold and tired and hungry. Trapped who knew where.

‘Please…guide me to him.’

The horse whinnied, once again picking up into a trot.

Her lips twisted into a sad smile. ‘Sorry, I’m asking too much of you.’

The horse snorted in response. She chuckled. Looked like nothing was too much for him.

‘Can I give you a name? Or do you already have one?’

He tossed his head and snorted.

‘Okay, how about Repu?’

A satisfied whinny.  

And then she heard it. She tugged Repu to a stop.  Ansu poked her head out from beneath her wing. It was soft, just barely within her ability to hear, a hummed melody so gentle, each note sustained. It twirled in the cool breath of the wind. She wheeled Repu around to the direction the melody came from and launched him into a gallop, Ansu taking to the wing once more. The melody was little off key, with some of the notes wrong, but familiar. All so familiar.

She never imagine he’d combine the song they made as children with the war cry spell.

It didn’t take long to reach the song’s origin. A large plateau rose out from behind the horizon, dawn streaking the sky behind it. A herd of horses milled in front of the plateau, the same ones the bandits rode. She was at the right place. An entrance had been hacked into the rock.

She dismounted behind a dune. ‘Wait here.’ Repu nudged her with his muzzle, but stayed his ground. She whistled quietly for Ansu, the bird perching on her bracelet within moments of her call. ‘Find High Priest Set and lead him here okay?’ Ansu chirped softly and took to the skies. If she knew anything about how the war cry spell worked, and she knew a lot about that spell, Master was already on his way. The war cry spell was weird. Its original use was to invigorate armies with the midst of battle, but it turned out it had way more uses than just that. Depending on sounds used, it was possible to make sure that certain people or animals will always hear the war cry no matter how far they were from the source. And this time, the song used was something only Master, Atem and Mana knew about. As a result, her and Master were most likely the only people who could hear the song right now.

She summoned her wand and crept into the entrance, passing through a long, winding passage that twisted and turned at every interval before finally, finally arriving at the bandits’ hideout. The air was dry and stale. A clay brazier burned cheerily, illuminating the room, which was bare except for a pot filled to the brim with oil, no doubt fuel for the brazier, and a chair. Three doorways linked the room to another, one to the left, one to the right, and one straight ahead, each of them blocked by doors. She crouched. Usually in dark, smelly places like this, where a lot of people lived together in close quarters, there was bound to be a rat colony. The brazier didn’t offer much light, but the scratches of small claws scrabbling on dirt and the very, very distinct smell that only a rat could make made it clear that her guess had been right. She couldn’t use her whistle-war cry spell combo to call for them as she normally would, since whistling carried far and there was a chance the bandits would hear her. Instead, she clicked her tongue as softly as she could, imbuing each click with her _heka_. It wasn’t as effective as whistling, but it was all she had.

At first, there was nothing. Time trickled by one drop at a time, the only things she could hear were her own heart and the soft clicks of her tongue. Her legs began to cramp from crouching for too long, but she still persisted. This was her only chance at finding Atem quickly. She couldn’t give up. Wouldn’t give up. Just as those thoughts crossed her mind, she heard it. The tiniest patter of little feet. She watched as a group of ten or so rats scampered out from the shadows, from behind the brazier, from the oil pot, and assembled in front of her, squeaking and snuffling in curiosity as to why she called them.

She bobbed her head down and lowered her voice. ‘I’m looking for a friend of mine but I don’t know where he is. Could help me find him?’

The rats shuffled about, still squeaking.

‘If you do help me, I promise I’ll feed you or any of your friends if you come by the palace. For a whole month.’

The squeaking quieted. She grinned. They had a deal. 

‘Okay, you two,’ she said pointing to a large dark brown rat and an even larger black one ‘stay here. The rest of you, please go find my friend. Extra food if you find him and help him escape.’

There was an indignant bout of squeaking from the other eight rats.

She winced at the racquet. She hoped that if anyone heard, they’d dismiss it. ‘Sorry, he smells like myrrh and cinnamon usually.’ The eight rats scattered. The remaining two looked at her expectantly. ‘I need you two to find something different. It’s called the Millennium Pendant. It should smell like...’ she paused. She didn’t know what the Millennium Pendant smelt like. That wasn’t something she ever thought she needed to know. And saying it looked like an upside down pyramid wasn’t going to help either… she looked at two rats in front of her, noses quivering and eyes expectant. There was only one thing rats understood. ‘It looks like a really big slice of bread covered in cheese.’

Both rats’ ears perked up.

‘It’s not actually made of bread and cheese though. It’s metal.’

There was a squeak of annoyance but they also scampered off. Now all she had to do was wait.

Her body was coiled up like a snake, ready strike any given time. Her no-good shoulder throbbed. The melody had stopped. She hope Prince was alright. The leftmost door banged open. She shrank back, pressing herself against the wall as a man stumbled in, mumbling under his breath.

‘Stupid boss, like if anybody’s gonna find us.’ The sweet stench of beer and sweat followed in his wake, as he passed her and plonked himself into the chair. Something glinted at his hip. She carefully edged her way around to see what it was. Tucked beneath the cord belted around his waist was Atem’s dagger.

She had to get that back. 

But she couldn’t just walk up and take it without being seen now could she…or could she? She closed her eyes and focused. The brimmed with her _heka_. She moved her arm, feeling a thin layer moved alongside it. The concealment spell was honestly the handiest spell she’s ever learnt. She tiptoed forward, careful not to make a sound. Closer. Closer. She crept across the floor, until she was right next to the bandit. Judging from his scowl, he hadn’t noticed her yet. She reached out and tugged at the dagger.

His head swivelled sharply into her direction. Her eyes met his, a map of red veins fanning out across yellowed eyes.

He stared at her. ‘What the f–’

_SMACK._

He toppled like a knocked over cup, hitting the floor with a thump. She wiped her wand on the skirt of her dress and prodded him with her foot. He was completely out. She slipped out the dagger from his belt and tucked it in her own. Guess she still couldn’t do the concealment spell without saying the incantation first. Least she knew that now.

There was a chorus of squeaks from the front-most door. Her heart thudded. They found him. She followed the rats into the next room, which only had a few baskets holding swords and another brazier, with two doorways side-by-side in front of her. The rats scampered down the right doorway. As she passed the left, she could faintly hear the sounds of drunken chatter and the clatter of mugs as the bandits celebrated their victory. The right doorway lead to a myriad of dimly light passages, crisscrossing and twisting in ways similar to that of a pharaoh’s tomb. She as she walked, she glimpsed empty bedrooms, sparring rooms, armouries, and even the odd loot room through the various open doors and doorways. The rats squeezed themselves under one of the doors on the right. Opening it, she was greeted with a flight of steps hewn into the rock, a row of torches curving its way down. The steps lead to a room split into four. Each the four rooms were piled high with baskets and chests filled with things like linen, dates and dried strips of meat. A pathway of sorts wound its way through the teetering stacks, leading to the very back of the room.

From the foot of the steps, only half his body was visible through the stacks. Her heart thumped loudly in her chest. She walked forwards, scared of what she might find, scared for him, scared, just so scared. She rounded the last stack, breath held.

He was propped up against a stack of chests, arms bound behind his back, legs bound in front. His body had been bared of jewellery, including the Millennium Pendant as she had guessed, the purple cape he wore stripped off his back. His eyes were closed, the beginnings of a bruise rimmed his right eye. A line of dried blood dribbled from a cut on his lip, another smear of blood on his neck from where he had cut himself. His eyes slowly opened at her approach.

His eyes crinkled into smile. ‘You sent the rat, right?’

She lunged forwards and flung herself onto him, laughter tumbling out from her grinning face. He was warm, warm with life. The scent of myrrh and cinnamon, his scent, enveloped her as she buried her face in his shoulder. ‘You’re alive. You’re really alive.’

It wasn’t just a hopeful thought. He was here, in her arms. She could feel his breath ghost her shoulder, feel the rise and fall of his chest against her own. He was really alive. All the everything she had been thinking about rushed at her all at once, the guilt, the regret, the relief, the happiness, worry, fear, it all churned in chest. The tears burst out of her, flooding down her face, each sob sending a shake down her body. She clung to him, her tears dampening his tunic. There was so much she wanted to tell him, to apologise for, but it all came out in broken babbles muffled into his shoulder. He didn’t say anything, letting her cry.

When her tears and sobs subsided, she looked up at him, smiling. There was so much to say…but right now wasn’t really the place for them. ‘I really missed you.’

‘Me too,’ he said softly.

She took out the dagger from her waist, and began work on cutting the ropes that bound Pr– no, Atem, starting with his hands. Since they were bound behind his back, and considering they were boxed in by chests, she was forced to reach over his shoulders to cut them. Atem leaned forward a little so she had better access. Behind him, a pale grey rat nibbled at the rope around his hands. She pushed the rat aside and continued what he started.  

‘What happened to your shoulder?’ he asked, as she worked.

‘Ansu during the sandstorm. It’s actually the second time this has happened this month. I think I’m going to get something that protects my shoulder from her talons once we get back.’ The rope at his hands snapped, so she moved to his feet. ‘I ending up breaking our promise first though,’ she said sheepishly.

His fingers brushed over her bandages lightly, making her wince. He immediately withdrew his hand. ‘I think the one to break our promise first was me.’

‘Yeah, about that. Why didn’t you summon a _ka_? That would’ve been better than bargaining your life.’

‘Well, the deal had been set up that if anything happened to the bandit, the girl would be shot down with an arrow. It was too risky. And…’

‘And?’

He averted his eyes ‘…It didn’t seem like an honourable thing to do…’

‘Really Atem?’ The ropes around his feet finally dropped, the dagger alongside it. Her lips tingled, not used to the feel of his name yet. But, it had rolled off her tongue as if it had been coated in honey– soft, smooth and sweet. Altogether weird, but not in a bad way.

His gaze snapped back to her. ‘You just said…’

‘Do you mind if I do?’

‘I, um… ah…’

She grinned. ‘No good, _Atem_?’

‘Ah…’ he cleared his throat. ‘Good. It’s good.’

Despite everything, she giggled. She should have done this years ago.

‘By, um, by the way,’ he said, ‘do you know what happened to the girl? Is she safe?’   

‘Yeah, she’s safe now. Her name is Nanu and she’s really nice. I’d introduce you two later, but I think she might faint if she’s near you.’

‘She won’t faint… would she?’

She crossed her arms. ‘You’d be surprised the kind of effect you have on people.’ And she knew that firsthand. After all, even now, she was giddy with happiness just from being near him. In the past she would’ve done everything in her power to curb this feeling, but no more. She wasn’t going to seal up everything anymore. She wasn’t going to regret anything again.  

‘We should get going before they find us,’ he said, getting to his feet before turning and offering her a hand.

She looked at him, bruised and battered and smeared with blood and sand, hair wild. The backs of his hands had been scraped, revealing the raw pink flesh below the skin. She couldn’t imagine she looked any better. She took his hand and he pulled her up, their faces only a hand’s width away. Let her _jb_ guide her was what Master had said, right?

‘Hey Atem, can I… say something?’

A confused expression that crossed his features, but he smiled. ‘Go ahead.’

She began to lean in, heart thrumming its own beat loudly in her chest, only to stop herself. No, that was a little too selfish of her. She leaned back and beamed at him instead. ‘I love you.’

Now, there was no going back. Things would change. Better or worse, she didn’t know. At least now, there’d be no secrets. Least now, she had no regrets. The bond she shared with Atem, it wasn’t going to be destroyed because of something like this. If they could survive a sandstorm and being kidnapped by bandits, nothing could break them… They hadn’t escaped the bandits yet…  Oh all the gods and goddesses in existence, she done stuffed up. She should have done this later, when they actually escaped. Master was wrong, you can regret decisions made by your _jb_. She was regretting her decision right now.

Atem’s face was completely blank. Oh by Ma’at and Apophis, she stuffed up big time.

‘I mean, ah, um…’ she stammered. Fish tails, there really wasn’t a way to go back.

That moment a drunken bandit decided to walk in. The bandit stood there a few moments, staring at the now free Atem and at Mana, before stumbling backwards with a shout. Mana moved into action, chasing down the bandit and giving him a good whack in the face with her wand before he could go up the stairs. But it was too late. The man hadn’t been alone. His earlier shout had more bandits tumbling down the stairs, swords ready.

Atem stood beside her, dagger in hand, as the bandits swarmed.

‘When I say go, run straight.’

He glanced at her before looking back at the stairwell. ‘Got it.’

She breathed in. She’ll only have one chance at this. She raised her wand and waited. Time trickled, as the clamour of the bandits making their way down the stairs grew louder and louder, until they reached the bottom and were just about to spill into the room.

‘Trip!’ The bandits furthest away from the doorway all immediately fell on the ones below them, causing the whole group to fall into an ugly heap at the bottom of the steps. Mana mustered as much _heka_ as she possibly could and heaved the entire pile of bandits off to the side. ‘Go!’

Atem ran forwards, passing the bandits, she following not too far behind. The two of them raced up the stairs as fast as they could. It took a little bit for the bandits to collect themselves in their drunken daze, but the roar of outrage from behind her told her that it wouldn’t be long before they gave chase. Upon reaching the top of the stairs she stopped.

‘Mana!’

‘I’ll hold them off! You keep going! Find a rat and follow it!’ One glance at his face told her he wasn’t going to budge. ‘I’ll be right behind you.’

He was still hesitant but he turned and continued running. She turned back to the stairwell, raising her wand at the bandits, who were scrabbling their way up the stairs. She had to hold them off as long as she could, so that he could escape. She was really bad at keeping promises.

She waited until the bandits were only a few arm lengths from her before she pointed at nearest one. ‘Trip!’

There was a lot of curses and screams of anger from the bottom of the stairwell. She grinned, watching them struggle out of the pile at the bottom for the second time. Now to finish them off.

‘A Thousand Magic Blasts!’ 

A hail of small balls of _heka_ pelted out of her wand and down at the bandits. Many on them found their targets, but the bandits didn’t falter, braving the hail as they steadily worked their way to the top, fury burning in their eyes. A few of them fell down, but a lot managed to reach the top. She backed away and gulped, all her fearlessness from earlier draining out of her body, as they began to circle her. Her hand shook. One or two, she could manage, but fifteen was definitely beyond her abilities. Not to mention the advantage lay with them in this even-surfaced corridor. She wanted to run, but she knew that was a really bad idea. One slash to the back, and she be lying on the floor dead.

One of the bandits to her right sneered. ‘Feeling not so tough, ay girlie?’

No she wasn’t, truthfully. How did Master and Isis do it, face adversity like this with no fear? She closed eyes, blocking out the chorus of laughs and jeers that followed. No, Isis feared. She even let fear get to her. But, that didn’t stop her from performing her duties as a High Priestess. She still fought.

Mana could do the same. For his sake.

She tutted, waving her finger as she did, her back straight as she smirked at the circle of bandits before her. A classic Master-type move. ‘Why would I be scared when I can summon a powerful monster?’

Fear seeped into their eyes. The battle had only been hours before. The fear instilled by the _ka_ still was fresh in their minds. 

She tried to emulate Priest Set, drawing herself up as high as she could and looking at them with a confident sneer. Or what she hoped was a confident sneer. She wasn’t really good at the whole haughty-sneery thing. Regardless, it worked. The bandits stumbled back a few steps. She was no longer in range of their swords.

One more push. She thrust out her hand. ‘Repuansu!’

The bandits shrank back, pressing themselves against the walls, swords wilding slashing in front of them. She had the room she needed.

‘A Thousand Magic Blasts!’

Her _heka_ scattered in all directions. More of the bandits crumpled upon impact. She kept it up as long as she could, sending out as many as possible to hit the bandits. When she finished, she managed to take out another eight bandits. Her legs were beginning to feel weak, so she steadied herself on a nearby wall. Normally this much wouldn’t tire her out, but unlike almost every other time she used _heka_ , she wasn’t working with a well-rested body or a full belly. The remaining seven bandits had already realised that she couldn’t summon _ka_ , and were advancing slowly, eyes filled with rage and hatred. There was nothing she could do anymore. She was out of strength and ideas. She closed her eyes. Atem would have escaped by now. She hoped he wouldn’t blame himself for leaving her.

A blade swung down. This was it. She had a good life. She even got to confess in the end. She would be forever thankful to Master for taking her in all those years ago. She wished she got to tell him that to his face.

 _Clang._ Clang? She opened her eyes. A large lizard stood before her, tail sweeping out from above his kilt, its crocodilian face pulled into a ferocious snarl. In its hand was a sword, which it had used to block the bandit’s incoming blade. A hand grabbed hers and yanked her down a nearby corridor. She looked at Atem’s back as they ran, at the Millennium Pendant that swung from his left hand.

‘We promised, remember?’

She smiled. ‘Yeah, we did.’

They ran through the myriad of passages. Four rats darted out of the shadows and raced ahead of them. Atem and Mana exchanged a glance and followed them They into the room with two doorways, where more bandits watched, mouths agape, as the two of them ran by. Past the first room with the brazier, where the bandit she conked earlier still lay, now in a peaceful sleep. They burst out of the hideout and into the desert, the sun well already past its peak, the orange tints of sunset beginning to streak the sky.      

‘Repu!’

Repu galloped towards them, sliding to a halt upon reaching. Atem swung himself up into the saddle and helped her on. The bandits swarmed out of the hideout like locusts, scrambling onto the nearby horses. Atem quickly slipped on the Millennium Pendant and dug his heels into Repu’s sides, propelling him into a gallop. Mana hugged his waist for dear life. She looked over her shoulder. They had managed to put some distance but the bandits were steadily gaining on them. It wouldn’t be long before–

A blast of _heka_ landed at the bandits’ horses’ feet, scattering them. She looked up to see the Magus of Illusions and Spiria flying towards them.

‘Master! Isis!’

A little ways to the right, Master and Isis galloped towards the bandits. A loud screech came from above. Ansu. That meant… She looked left to see Priest Set charging at the bandits, khopesh raised, his _ka_ out and ready for battle. Behind him, Priests Shada and Kalim.

Master pulled his horse to a stop. ‘Go! We’ll handle things here.’

Atem nodded, urging Repu into a gallop once more. Mana watched as the High Priests clashed with the bandits. The bandits, minds still fuzzy from the liquor, had no hope against the High Priests’ attack. And attack they did, eager to repay the bandits the debt they gave to them earlier in full.

Eventually, the fight disappeared into the distance. Even the plateau was swallowed up by the dunes. She turned around.


	9. Last Chapter

Mana didn’t know how long they galloped for, the soft thud of Repu’s hooves on the sand puncturing the silence. She scanned the horizon, just in case a bandit managed to stray from the fight and come after them, wanting to exact vengeance for his fallen brothers, but there was nothing. It was just the two of them among the dunes.

‘Is there anyone?’ said Atem.

‘No. And even if there was, Ansu would say.’ The falcon had followed them as they escaped, her task finished, and she now kept abreast with them, soaring above in the slowly deepening blue of the sky.

He slowed Repu from a gallop to a walk. With no danger to hold it back, her cheeks heated up. They were pretty close to each other right now. She literally had her arms around his waist, it was basically a hug. What’s more, she confessed. She couldn’t imagine what kind of thoughts Atem might be thinking right now. He probably was still reeling from what she had said. Maybe even being so close like this might be bothering him… She withdrew her arms and hopped off Repu mid-walk.

Atem tugged the horse to a stop. ‘Is something wrong?’

The smile on her lips was genuine. Even now, he still treated her as always. ‘Just thought two people might be too much for Repu.’

Repu snorted in protest. She silently apologised to the horse for using him as an excuse.

‘In that case, I’ll join you,’ Atem said, dismounting.

They walked on, side-by-side, him leading Repu by the reins. Neither of them said anything.  

She was the one to break the silence. ‘It’s okay,’ she began, ‘I’m not expecting anything back. You don’t have to worry about letting me down. I’m fine with us just being friends. I mean, if you would still have me as a friend.’

He looked at her sharply. ‘What do you mean?’

‘Well, I haven’t been the bestest friend of late. This past month all I had been thinking about was myself and how I felt. I never asked you how you felt about everything. I never went to see how you were doing. The one time you needed a friend, and I wasn’t there.’

He shook his head. ‘You were there.The game we played, your promise, even you stealing my clothes, that’s just only a few of the things you’ve done for me. And before that, you were there for me when Father passed. That was hard as it stood, but without you there by my side, it’d have been harder. The very first time we met even had you comforting me.’ He smiled. ‘I still haven’t forgotten what you said back then, all those years ago.’

‘What did I say?’ She honestly didn’t know.

‘”We’re friends now. And friends don’t have to act tough in front of friends.” That was the first time anyone had called me their friend,’ he said. ‘You’ve always been there for me. And I’m glad I got to do the same for you.’

Silence lapsed. Repu continued to plod on. The sky now had more streaks of purple and gold weaving in between the hues of blue and orange, the sun just touching the horizon’s edge.

‘Can I ask how long?’

She had been expecting this one. ‘Well I only realised earlier this year, but Master worked it out three years ago. Somehow.’

‘…Three years.’

Her cheeks grew hot. ‘In my defence, this is all really new to me.’  

‘Heh, you’re worse than me.’

What? She snatched a glance in his direction. His lips had curled into a small smile.

‘Mahaad realised two years before I did. And that was the end of last year.’

She stared at him. His eyes were glued ahead. The tips of his ears were tinted red.

 ‘It was when you fell sick last year. I was worried that I’d lose you. I begged the gods day and night that you get better… it was only then I realised how much you meant to me. But I didn’t feel it was right to say anything. I didn’t want to make you feel obligated to do something you don’t want to…’

He felt the same. Her heart felt like it could fly out of her chest and soar into the sky out of pure happiness. But… she looked at the ground instead. She knew why he hadn’t told her this earlier.

‘How long have I been a Queen candidate?’

He didn’t say anything for a moment. ‘…I’m not sure how long but it was before I became Pharaoh. My father would sometimes allow me to join in during his meetings, and a few times your name was brought up whenever the topic of the next Queen was discussed.’

So it had been during Pharaoh Akhenamkhanen’s time that she had been chosen. That was a lot longer than she had expected. ‘I can’t imagine I’d make a good Queen. After the first day Egypt will be up in flames.’

The slight chuckle did not go unheard. ‘You already set me alight.’

‘Was that a pun?’

She watched as his face slowly became more flustered as what he had said dawned on him. ‘You know I didn’t mean it like that.’

She laughed. ‘I know, but it’s more fun that way.’

Silence lapsed.

‘What now?’ she asked. The whole “Atem-having-feelings-back” hadn’t been a part of her plan.

‘…I guess we do nothing. Pretend like none of this happened.’

Pretend like none of this happened… Could she honestly do that? She spent so much of this year pretending that things were as they ever were, could she really just go back to do that? And most importantly, did she even want to, especially knowing that he felt the same as her?

‘If only I wasn’t Pharaoh.’

His brow was furrowed and his free hand clenched. This is the first time she had ever heard him wish he wasn’t the Pharaoh. She looked up, watching the silhouette of Ansu twist and dip in the fiery hues of the sky. If he hadn’t been a pharaoh, they’d probably be together right now. Maybe even married with a house of their own. At least, in a perfect life that would be the case.

‘…If you hadn’t been born a pharaoh, I don’t think we would’ve met,’ she said. ‘You wouldn’t have met Master either. The three of us would’ve never grown up together.’

Master would’ve still been a priest, would’ve still found her lying in on the wayside, and would’ve still brought her to the palace. The only difference would be no crying boy to make friends with.

‘I’m not so sure about that.’

She looked at him in surprise. His gaze was steady, firm with belief.

‘The bond I share with you, it’s not so easily broken. I’m sure regardless of circumstance, whether I’m born a king of a great land or the son of a small-time merchant, our paths will cross.’

She closed her eyes and smiled. He was right. ‘But you know, I don’t care that you’re the Pharaoh. Atem is Atem.’

His face grew a little flustered, still not completely used to her saying his name. ‘I’ve been meaning to ask, but why’d you suddenly stop calling me Prince?’

‘Well,’ she said ‘I thought about it and I realised something. Me calling you Prince was no different from everybody else calling you Pharaoh. I guess it was my way of remembering that we weren’t the same. And when you became Pharaoh, I was even more aware that we weren’t the same. I let it get to me. I stopped treating you like I used to. But not anymore.’

She looked at him, looked at his eyes, the colour of young lotus blooms and the sunset sky above them.  

‘Atem I… when you were taken, I was filled with so much regret. There were so many things I had wanted to say to you, had wanted to do with you. But, I couldn’t.’ And she never wanted to feel that hollow regret ever again. ‘I don’t think we can remain the same as before. I don’t want to anyways.’

‘Then you’ll…’ he didn’t need to finish.

She shook her head. ‘No, I won’t become Queen. That’s just not me.’

‘Then what are you saying?’

‘I don’t know, I just… I just want to appreciate the time we have together. Live with no regrets. I mean, I know this can’t go forever. One day someone who’s good enough to become Queen will appear, and when that happens, I guess we’ll stop. I don’t know exactly we’d feel at that point though…’ she trailed off. ‘…You know what, this is probably the worst idea ever.’

‘I guess we’re both really reckless then.’

His eyes were gentle, his lips tugged upwards into a soft smile. He reached out and entwined his hand with hers. ‘I can’t imagine what kind of future awaits us. But, I know for a fact, I want nothing more than to be with you.’

This time she didn’t stop herself. She flung herself at him, arms slotting into place behind his neck, body pressing against his, and kissed him. It wasn’t much, barely more than a meeting of their lips because honestly she had no idea how kissing worked outside the fact you press your mouth against another person’s, but it was enough to make her heart burst in her chest. Tingles spread from the top of her head down to her toes, making her knees go weak. His arms wrapped around her waist, steadying her, melding his body with hers. When they finally broke apart, Atem gently held her cheek, using his thumb to wipe tears she hadn’t realised started falling.

‘I never told you properly after you went through all the effort to tell me, did I?’ he said. His voice radiated his smile. ‘Mana, I love you. Always have and always will.’

She didn’t know where the future would go, nor did she ever want to. All she knew that right now, right in this very moment, she was happy beyond belief. And, with the sky aflame in orange and the sun slowly sinking into the underworld, Mana dove in for another kiss.   


	10. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> GLOSSARY FOR EGYPTIAN TERMS
> 
> Per-Nefer = House of Vitality. The part of a temple where bodies are mummified and left to rest  
> Eye of Wdjat = a.k.a the Eye of Horus. A symbol of protection (in Yu-Gi-Oh, it's the eye symbol on the Millennium Puzzle and on the door to the afterlife in the Ceremonial Battle)

As it has been for the past two months or so, Mana finds herself in the _Per-Nefer_. The lamps are cold, letting the night lap into the room, flooding it in darkness. Her steps disturbs the tranquil silence, echoing across the vast chamber. She stops at the foot of a short flight of steps she knows is there, and casts her eyes up. The Millennium Ring jingles, the small tinks of sound almost joyful. In the time since that fateful battle, she has grown used to having Ring around her neck. It at first had weighed her down, the metal cold as the Nile’s waters against her skin. Now, it is as normal as her priestess garb. Though there is one thing she can never get used to. Each night, she could feel a dark presence slither into her dreams, coiling in her thoughts. Waiting, watching. One day it will strike, hatred bared and dripping. 

She fingers the Ring and closes her eyes. The image of him standing before her, his purple cape vibrant amidst the dark hues of grey that was the sky, his shoulders squared as he faced the great evil known as Zorc, would be forever burned into her mind. As would his smile. It shone in amidst the darkness, as bright as the sun that begun to break away from its cloudy prison. And, just like that, it vanished. He disappeared, his body swept away like smoke by the wind. The Pendant dropped into the sand, shattering into pieces. She crouched and picked up the pieces, not stopping until she cradled all of them in her hands. They were so small, so fragile. The smell of myrrh and cinnamon lingered in the air. The pieces are now safely stored in the gold-leafed box that sits upon the slab in front of her. It had been there for the last sixty-nine days, and would be transferred to Atem’s tomb on the seventieth, as per the usual length of time it takes to prepare a body for burial. As the only High Priest, she will be the one to perform the funerary rites. Though, neither she nor Set believes it will be of any use. There’s no body to prepare, no coffin to seal. She’ll only be performing the motions. The room grows colder. She doesn’t light the lamps.

‘You’re here again.’

She opens her eyes but doesn’t turn around. ‘So are you, Set.’

The former priest only grunts and moves to stand beside her, gazing up at the box. She wonders what thoughts flit through his mind. They are all that remained of the High Priests. Eventually Set will find replacements, but for now, it was just them. She returns her gaze back to the box.

‘We failed him.’ Set’s voice is quiet when he speaks. His voice is always quiet in the _Per-Nefer_.

She closes her eyes. The vision of his smile flashes again. ‘He chose to sacrifice himself to save us. That’s just what he does.’

She had said similar to Nanu last year, back when the thought of his death was only a thought. They had become good friends in the time since. After Zorc had been sealed, she found her body under the rubble of a fallen house, covered in burns and bruises. She pulled her out of the rubble, only to reveal the bodies of two children, both girls, that she had been sheltering. They are now currently asleep in the practice room, exhausted after today’s lesson.  

‘The thought would have never crossed his mind had we done our jobs. Had not…’ He falters. Akhenadin’s betrayal still affects him. She’d be the same if it had been Master. ‘He should be the one on the throne. Not I.’

She opens her eyes. ‘He thought you were worthy. If he hadn’t, he’d have picked someone else.’

‘Even so…’

Her fingers seeks out the Ring. She understands his position all too well. Neither of them say anything, letting the hours trickle by. The night seems endless. 

‘He’ll come back.’

She can feel Set’s gaze turn her way.

‘It takes three millennia for a soul to return to the living,’ she said.

‘How are you so sure?’

He was right. There is no way to be sure that the rules of reincarnation applies to this situation.   

Instead of answering, she mounts the steps, stopping in front of the slab. She could now see the box with its dull golden sheen more clearly. She gently lifted the box’s lid. The pieces of what was the Millennium Pendant lay inside, a twisted mess of shapes that just didn’t seem to fit together. All that remained of him.

‘I’m not sure. I don’t think I can be. But he said he would, and I trust him.’ She picks up one of the pieces and cradles it in her hand, allowing her fingers to drift over it. Unlike what she expected, the piece isn’t smooth– its corners are jagged and a series of raised lines mar its flat surface. She recognises the shape. The Eye of Wdjat.

She prays. She prays for the Eye would protect him as he slept. She prays for his sleep be a peaceful one with no dreams. She prays for him to be alright. She lifts the Eye to her lips. Instead of the shock cold, a vibrant warmth flows from the piece. A familiar warmth that she had felt many times over the course of the past year. The air smelled faintly of the scent of myrrh and cinnamon. She smiles a slow smile. The first one in a long time.

‘I’ll wait. No matter how long it takes, I’ll wait. And next time, we won’t fail.’

She snaps her fingers. The oil lamps burst into flame, the warm light spreading around the _Per-Nefer_ in an instant. She turns. Set was smiling, a rare genuine smile. Yes, they’ll wait. Three millennia is a long time, but they are patient. He might have forgotten all about his battle with Zorc, a battle that was not yet over. But that’s fine. He won’t be alone. She’ll be there by his side, as a friend, as a servant, as his partner.

Because, after all, the bond shared is not easily broken. It weaves them together, transcending time and death, forever unchanging. They’ll meet again. And when they do, she’ll greet him with a smile, just as she always has.


End file.
